More Than Human
by darkpartofmydestiny
Summary: Sarah and Jareth are living happily together in London leading an ordinary life. Political fractions in the Underground put their happiness - and Sarah's life - in danger. Complete.
1. Going Underground

**A/N: This is a sequel to my story Many Happy Returns. You might want to go read that first, it's not essential but there will be things mentioned in this story that were established in that one. Warning for sexual discussion and a little bad language, but nothing graphic enough to warrant an M.  
**

* * *

Sarah stared at the clock, daydreaming again. It was Monday morning, three thirty seven in the afternoon to be precise, and she was hopelessly bored. She had been working at Hills and Moon publishing house for almost nine months, editing dreary romance novels written for middle aged women who, as she had been told at the interview, "weren't married, had too many cats and read too much Jane Austen as a teenager". Sarah thought this description of their customers had been a little harsh, but as she had read more and more books she could kind of see what they meant. Every book had a brooding, difficult to please man who was the lead character's enemy at first but they fell in love and everything was fine.

Sounds vaguely familiar, Sarah thought with a smile.

Life was pretty good right now; she was hopelessly in love with Jareth, and they were living together happily in his house in Chelsea. She hadn't returned to America (except to clear out her old apartment at 3am with Jareth's help), and had gotten a job at the publishers without calling in any favours owed to a certain Goblin King. Her job was a little boring sometimes, but she enjoyed being around authors and learning about being an editor.

"Sarah, Mr Stewart needs the final edit of Forbidden Passion on his desk by Friday." Alison, one of Mr Stewart's secretaries, told her. Mr Stewart was the seemingly hundred year old head of the company, who took great care in checking every book before it was published. Sarah was impressed with his dedication to the business, even if the content of the books left a little to be desired.

"Sure Alison, not a problem. It's almost done anyway." Sarah had spent weeks trying to make a terrible romance novel at least a little readable, no easy task. The main task was editing out all the author's terrible euphemisms for the male genitalia. Really, Sarah thought as she looked down at the manuscript in front of her, who could ever get in the mood when someone calls it a "lovestick"?

Her phone rang shrilly, and she picked it up after a few rings. She really wasn't in the mood for work today, she felt distracted and on edge. She hadn't been getting enough sleep; Jareth didn't sleep as much as she did, and these past few nights he and his lovestick had been particularly demanding. Not that she was complaining, she thought with a smile.

"Sarah Williams." She answered, and the smile playing on her lips spread into a full on grin when she heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello my darling."

"Hello love." She had found herself using more and more British endearments, something that amused Jareth. "Is everything alright? You don't normally call." He had more of a habit of just appearing in places when he wanted to talk to her. She'd only seen him a few hours ago when he'd taken her to work. One of many fantastic things about having a magical King as a boyfriend was that you saved a fortune on train fares.

"I could see that you were not alone so I thought telephoning would be more practical. I don't have much time." Sarah needed to have a word with him about watching her with those damn crystals. "I have to go Underground."

"I thought you'd already be there." She told him, spinning a little on her chair. He went back to his Kingdom every day, Sarah didn't understand why he was calling to tell her.

"I have been, I've come back up here just to use the telephone. I may be gone a little longer than usual and I didn't want you to worry. Juturna has had her baby at last, and I am expected to go to her Kingdom without delay and offer my congratulations. I haven't seen her for hundreds of years and just because she's popped out a sprog I have to go and act like the genial uncle."

Jareth and his twin sister always communicated through diplomats rather than talking directly to each other. Things were a little shaky between them to say the least, and Sarah knew that Jareth was more worried about the situation than he let on.

"How long?" Sarah asked, a little worried; they hadn't spent a night apart for the entirety of their relationship. She hated to feel so dependent on a man, but she told herself it was perfectly fine to enjoy being with the one you loved so much that you felt a little lost without him.

"Maybe two days? Three at the very most. I expect her oafish husband will want to have some political discussions about our latest trade agreement. Then of course there's still the issue of my heir that she won't stop banging on about."

Jareth had been getting increasingly frustrated with his sister's efforts to have her child be named heir to the Goblin Kingdom and Jareth wouldn't move an inch on the subject.

"I won't be able to come home to you, they'll be watching me, possibly even tracking my magic and I don't want to lead them to you. I'm reluctant to even use my crystals to check you're alright whilst I'm there, spies are everywhere in that court."

Jareth had been incredibly cautious and protective over Sarah; the transformation process had begun, or so he told her, and it placed her in a vulnerable position. Jareth had told her that the fact he had been able to trigger the change (with his lovestick, Sarah thought with a giggle) in her would be seen as an open declaration of his intention to make her his queen, despite the fact he hadn't actually proposed to her.

She had been fully aware of this before they had slept together for the first time, and had gradually been coming to terms that eventually she would have to leave everything she knew Above and take her place by Jareth's side as Queen of his domain. She had expected to feel a sense of fear or at least mild trepidation at this, but as the months had progressed she could think of nothing she wanted more. She hadn't told Jareth that she was ready to be his Queen, as she was sure he had planned to ask her exactly when it was right. She would have to be further along in her transformation, and she was growing increasingly impatient at seeing no signs of it.

Sarah couldn't see any difference in herself at all, no matter how long she stared in the mirror for. She had expected to feel something at least, but so far nothing had changed. Jareth watched over her carefully, making sure that the transformation wasn't overpowering her. Sometimes she was tired, more tired than usual, and he would put her to bed and refuse to let her move for several days until she was completely rested.

She tried to tell him it was just stress from work or exhaustion, but he would never listen to her. He wouldn't even touch her, telling her that she needed a break from _all_ physical activity. She knew that every time they made love, her powers would grow a tiny bit stronger. To be honest, she thought she got so tired because they made love so frequently that the process wasn't going as slowly as it should have been.

"I'll miss you." She told him, imagining their bed without him in it to be cold and lonely. "Come back as soon as you can, okay?"

"Trust me dearest, if I had my way I'd never leave your side. I can't wait to come home to you and I haven't even left yet."

"Just do what you have to do and come back. I'll be lonely without you."

"Ah, talking of being alone. I've assigned some goblins to guard you. You won't see them, but they'll be there if you need them."

"You really don't have to do that, I'll be fine on my own." Sarah said stubbornly, and she heard Jareth sigh down the phone.

"Sarah, don't argue with me. You are the most precious thing in my life, I would never put you at risk by leaving you unprotected. And before you tell me," his voice said down the phone, just as she opened her mouth to protest, "I know you can look after yourself love, but just put my mind a little at rest, please sweet thing? Our time apart would be much harder if I was worried about your safety as well as missing you like crazy." Sarah softened, relenting.

"Fine." She looked around the office to make sure nobody was listening. "Those goblins better not touch any of my stuff." She told him sternly, remembering once a few years ago when she had gone to get a cookie out of the jar and found a plump little goblin dusting crumbs off it's mouth. Jareth normally didn't allow goblins inside his London home, so it struck Sarah that he must be seriously concerned for her safety. "Just hurry back. I better go, these books won't edit themselves. I love you."

"And I love you. Don't miss me too much." He teased her, and Sarah laughed.

"I'll try." She said, twisting the phone chord round her finger. "Bye, love. Be nice to your sister." She warned him, and she was rewarded with a light chuckle.

"I'll try. Goodbye darling." The phone line went dead, and Sarah placed the phone back on the receiver.

* * *

Sarah worked later than usual that night, seeing no reason to rush home to an empty house. She finished editing the dire manuscript and had started another one that was a little more enjoyable to read. She left the office around seven that evening, her spirits a little higher now she was working on something written by someone with an ounce of creativity.

The journey home felt long and sticky; it was the height of summer, and though England didn't get much good weather, they were in the midst of an unbearable heatwave. Normally, Jareth would come and get her and they would either walk home together and enjoy the weather or he would transport them to wherever they wanted to go. They spent many evenings enjoying dinner together or socializing. He really did have a vast circle of friends, and she had a few friends of her own. Most nights, however, were spent in the privacy of their own home.

They were utterly obsessed with one another, consumed by lust and love in equal measure. Sarah had thought that their passion for each other would die down a little as the relationship progressed; if anything, it had gotten more and more intense. There were times that they barely made it through the front door before their clothes fell to the ground and they were lost in each other.

* * *

Getting out of the hot and stuffy tube, she made the short walk from Sloane Square to their home on the King's Road. Jareth's house was huge, almost embarrassingly so; it sat in the middle of a row of terraced houses, three stories tall with large windows, and a set of stairs leading to the blue front door.

They lived a simple life, and most of the rooms were empty. The house was made up of twenty rooms, though they only used five or six. They both had an office each, and then a living room, a bathroom each, a kitchen and of course a bedroom. That still left several other rooms empty, and one in particular Sarah thought would make a nice nursery, though she was sure by the time they had children they'd be living Underground full time. She had also made a spare room into a comfortable boys bedroom where Toby could stay. Her father refused to let her see him, as she had expected, but she still held out hope that one day he'd let him come visit.

The first time Sarah had brought Linda to show her where she was living, her mother thought it was a joke. Twenty one year old college dropouts didn't tend to live in these swanky town houses in one of the most fashionable (and expensive) areas of London. The fact she was living there with a man who looked to be at least double her age probably didn't help ease her parents' concerns about her lifestyle.

Jareth could charm Linda, but on the rare occasions Sarah's father rang their home, his charm fell completely flat. Jareth told people he was an art dealer, and Sarah's father wasn't impressed by that career in the least. Sarah had given up caring whether or not he was impressed by anything to do with her life.

Although things were still strained with her father, her mother had come round to the idea of having Sarah in London. Jareth had thoroughly charmed Linda on their first meeting, to the extent that Sarah kicked him viciously in the shins under the table for flirting with her. That was their first argument.

They never really argued, except over silly little things like his habit of leaving old teabags on the kitchen counter. Sarah had never lived with a guy before, and although it had taken a little getting used to, most of the time things were almost sickeningly perfect.

Jareth took care of her without being overbearing, and was incredibly supportive of her career as well as her own writing. Her novel was almost finished, and she was getting ready to send it out to publishers. She'd rather not approach her work to publish it; she wasn't sure if she wanted to be the same type of author as the ones she edited. Jareth had assured her that she could keep writing as much or as little she wanted once they were Underground, and that he would never stop her pursuing a career.

* * *

Sarah was watching television, curled up in just her underwear to try and cool down. The house was cooler than outside but still felt stiflingly hot, even with every window open. It was still bright outside, but Sarah felt incredibly tired after a long day at work. She fell into a peaceful sleep on the sofa. She woke up with a start, hearing a loud crash of thunder that made her scream and jump to her feet.

Then she saw that it wasn't a summer storm to blame for the thunder but her stupid boyfriend, who was standing in the corner of the room.

"For fuck's sake Jareth!" She rarely swore, but her heart was beating so fast that she thought she might pass out from fright. "You know not to do that!" She was silenced when he ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms fiercely, holding her so tightly it hurt.

"You're alright. You're alright." He breathed, looking at her face closely.

"Of course I am." She answered, her brow creasing in a frown. "Why wouldn't I be?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! So, here's the sequel..it's a little more plot driven than Many Happy Returns, but I promise there will still be lots of Sarah/Jareth interaction and fluffiness. The updates won't be as fast as they were on the other story, but they should still be fairly regular. I found the title quite hard, and then I saw a David Bowie quote and it just fitted. Anyway! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	2. Family Ties

"Goodbye darling." Jareth placed the phone back on the receiver, leaning against the cool wall, gathering his thoughts before he returned Underground.

He had already spent all morning hearing petitions, and was looking forward to going home to Sarah when a messenger arrived from his sister. The Elf had announced that the birth of Jareth's nephew had occurred two days prior, telling him that his attendance was requested at a feast that evening, and that Juturna wished to see him as soon as possible. Normally he would ignore such a command, but he wished to get whatever unpleasantness she had planned out of the way.

With a final check that the house was secure, Jareth transported himself to his sister's castle. He walked through the entrance hall, and the Elvish guards opened the door to the throne room when they saw him approach.

"His Royal Highness, King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom." Jareth walked swiftly into his sister's throne room. It was a dark room that smelt faintly of mud; the Elvish were more practical than Fae, and there was no unnecessary decoration.

His sister and her husband Aelfric sat in matching thrones, despite the room being devoid of anyone except a smattering of guards. Jareth never sat on his throne in an otherwise empty room when he was expecting guests, unless he really wanted to intimidate whoever was coming to see him. Aelfric had never liked him, that much was painfully clear, and as a result Jareth was determined to be as unfailingly charming as he could, just to irritate his dear brother in law.

"Brother." His sister greeted him coldly, rising to stand in front of him. She was a small woman, painfully thin even after pregnancy with similar sharp features to his own, though hers made her look severe. She wore her white blonde hair long and flowing with small braids running through it, as was the Elvish style. She wore a silk dress in a rich red, which made her pale skin look like milk. It was most unbecoming, Jareth thought; she looked sickly, rather than regal. Her eye markings were identical to his, just about the only thing they had in common. She held her hand out expectantly.

He stepped up to her throne and kissed her hand as protocol demanded, though he was careful not to kneel or lower himself before her. He was a King in his own right, and he would not be seen to give any semblance of power to his sister or her fool husband.

"Sister. Many congratulations on the birth of your first son." He said as sincerely as he could manage, standing in front of her. "Is there a name for the child?"

"The boy's name is Alaric." Aelfric said sharply. Jareth recognised the name from Elvish history, and tried to remember the meaning.

"Emperor of all. High hopes for your boy, certainly." He said smoothly, ignoring the fact that he was certain his sister had chosen this name to make her intentions to pursue her son's claim to his throne known. "May I see the child?"

"He is sleeping. You may see him tomorrow at the official naming ceremony. Mother and Father will be in attendance too." Juturna told him, returning to her throne. "I do hope you will do us the courtesy of staying for the duration, Jareth. I have been told you are rarely in your own Kingdom for more than thirteen hours at a time."

He had been there for two minutes and already her games had begun.

"Told, indeed, by whom? Not spying on me I hope, dearest sister." Jareth replied conversationally, doing his best to seem uninterested in her gossip.

In fact, it greatly worried him; he had never told anybody that he didn't sleep Underground and he had placed an enchantment on his bed chamber that gave the illusion he was in there. Elves had the ability to see through Fae magic, the grimly practical creatures that they were, so if his sister had placed an Elvish spy in his castle he was confident that the enchantment would be useless on them.

"Just stories I have heard, brother. The idle chattering of court, I am sure." She said smoothly. Her eyes were hard, and Jareth could see that she had thin lines around her mouth from pursing her lips constantly. She had aged since he had last seen her, the bitterness visible in every part of her face. She had never been a beauty, but now she just looked sour.

"Perhaps you should ignore them, Juturna, and find better ways to occupy your time. I assure you my Kingdom is doing quite well, and there is no need for your concern."

"I wish to have a proper discussion with you Jareth. I am displeased with the idiot advisers you repeatedly send to me rather than coming to face me yourself."

"There is nothing to discuss. I have made my position on the subject quite clear."

"I don't see your point, brother. Were you to die, Alaric is your closest male relative so the throne would pass to him anyway. Naming him your heir is merely a formality. It is pure stubbornness on your part that you hesitate."

"And yet you are so very concerned about this formality. How curious." He said, acting as though he was trying to work out a complicated riddle. "Naming him my heir would cause friction within my kingdom, and when I have my own child there will be complications in reversing the order. I have been through this with those dunderheads you call diplomats several times."

" _When_ you have a child?" Juturna laughed cruelly. "You aren't even betrothed, despite Mother trying her best for the past thousand years. What are your chances of having a child? A legitimate one, I mean. We've all heard of your promiscuity Above, as well as with rather a few Fae. You've had more lovers than I've had gowns." Jareth ignored her; the promiscuity she referred to was well and truly over.

"I think that says more about your wardrobe than my love life." Jareth was sure he heard one of the guards by her side snigger. "I have no intention of dying for thousands more years Juturna, however you seem to be utterly obsessed with my demise. Have my physicians told you something I don't know?" Jareth asked lightly, fiddling with his gloves in an attempt to appear indifferent. His sister enraged him, and he was struggling to keep his temper with her.

The argument over his nephew being put in line for the throne had been going on ever since Juturna announced her pregnancy, around ten months before. It was ten months of boredom as he stated the same reasons for his decision over and over again. His sister never would relent, even as children she had to have the last word.

"Perhaps if you ceased making jokes and took this a little more seriously, we would have more faith in your abilities as ruler." Aelfric told him, narrowing his eyes. Jareth looked up at him, his mouth set in a thin line. He was an ugly man, a head shorter than his wife. He had pointy ears that were always on view, his long brown hair tucked behind them.

"You dare question my position?" His voice was hard. "I am the Goblin King. Son of Heyfed, the High King. You are ruler of one fraction of the Elvish territories, your brothers hold far more power than you do. The only reason you were allowed to marry Juturna, Aelfric, is because you needed to strengthen your people's alliance with the Fae and you offered us a portion of Elvish lands you had control over. We took them, we stripped their natural resources and we gave them back to you. Do not get above your station or perhaps my father will wish his side of the bargain to be returned to him."

"Do not discuss me as though I was a sack of corn to be traded, Jareth." His sister hissed at him. "You are a guest in my court and you will treat my husband and I with respect."

"I will treat you both with respect when you stop bothering me to ensure your son is Heir to the Goblin throne! I know that as soon as I officially name him, the price on my head will rise and every Elf will be out for my blood!"

The political situation between the Fae and the Elves had always been fraught; the Elves had no magical abilities and thousands of years in the past there had been slavery and misery inflicted on them by the Fae. Though this had long since been abolished, there was a huge amount of hurt on their part, with many seeking revenge against the Fae. The rift had been healed a little by the marriage of Juturna and Aelfric, but Jareth didn't trust the alliance to hold forever.

"You are far too paranoid, brother. Alaric is just a babe, days old, what would he do with a throne?" Juturna asked with a laugh.

"Alaric would have to have a protector, of course. And I'm sure your husband would be happy to take my place for a few hundred years until the boy is ready." Jareth spat, and he noticed Aelfric shift a little in his chair. "Really Juturna this is ridiculous. I trust you haven't informed Father of your constant harassment of me?"

"Not yet, but Father would be on my side. As the only one of us to have a child, it is my right-"

"It is my right!" Jareth raised his voice, his restrain finally snapping. "It is my right as King! Your constant interfering in how I run my land is trying my patience Juturna, and I believe you need me far more than I need you."

"I will wait to hear what Father has to say! He is still High King, you are only King of the Goblin Kingdom because he grew tired of it."

"Perhaps, but he gave me the crown and I shall do everything in my power to keep the peace. I believe that your son inheriting my crown would disrupt that peace. Honestly, I've spoken to children who grasp things quicker than you do, Jut."

It was an old nickname that he knew irritated her, and she visibly bristled. It had been given to her not only because of her name, but because of how bony she had been as a child.

"Shut up, Jar." She said quickly, so irritated she forgot to maintain the illusion of being regal. "Acting like a brat isn't going to solve anything."

"It certainly hasn't for you." He shot back, and was rewarded when she looked as though she wanted to kill him. The only thing he liked about his sister was how easy it was to piss her off. "I wish to retire and cease this pointless discussion. You have wasted quite enough of my time on it these past few months."

Juturna waved her hand and a servant appeared.

"Show His Highness to his bedchamber." She commanded. Jareth started walking out of the throne room, and his sister called after him. "You are expected at the feast tonight, brother, which begins at the stroke of thirteen. We have decreed that the use of magic shall be forbidden for the evening, out of respect for the Elvish. You'll have to stay Underground," her voice was antagonistic, taunting him with glee "I know how much you'll miss your little toy you keep Above." Jareth froze, and turned slowly to face his sister. She had an infuriating grin on her face, one that Jareth recognized from when they were children and she had just broken one of his things.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Juturna. But then I never do, really."

"Oh really? Perhaps I should refresh your memory."

Juturna summoned a crystal and let it float over to Jareth. He caught it, and took a steadying breath before he looked into it. He could see Sarah at work, chewing a pencil and standing over the photocopier. She looked so normal, so very human. The sight of her made his heart race with desire; he loved her so very much. How had Juturna found her? He had put cloaking enchantments everywhere to try and protect Sarah, but his sister had found her all the same.

"Pretty little thing, isn't she? I can certainly see why you're so fond of her. What a shame you didn't bring her with you, I would so love to meet her." Juturna said, in a simpering voice that made Jareth's skin crawl. "I suppose she is rather vulnerable, being in the weakened state between humanity and Fae. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to her."

Jareth didn't give Juturna the satisfaction of reacting to what she had just said, but he felt an overwhelming surge of panic. He wanted to protect Sarah and he had just walked into a trap, exposing her weakened state to the person he trusted least in the world.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Oh Jareth, my sweet brother, do stop playing so innocent. It's growing tiresome. You may have well just urinated on her." His sister scoffed, and Jareth glared at her for being so coarse. "It was clear to me from the first time I saw her in a crystal that you have marked her as your mate. Why all the secrets?" She waved her hand and the crystal containing Sarah vanished.

"I do not wish to discuss matters of a personal nature. It is my own business, sister. When the time is right, perhaps I shall tell you more, but considering your past behaviour you will forgive me for not spilling my guts to you. I believe I am allowed to have relationships without my sister's permission."

"It is the Kingdom's business." Aelfric interrupted. "Marking a human is a ridiculous thing to do. Your subjects would never accept a filthy half breed as your heir nor a human as their Queen."

"Oh, are you still here?" Jareth asked irritably, waving a hand at his brother in law dismissively. "The way you let your wife prattle on, I thought you'd left. And as your son is in fact a half breed, as you put it, perhaps you should keep a wiser tongue in your head."

"I think perhaps you best retire, brother, before you say something you regret. We will see you at the feast. Be punctual." His sister told him, waving him away. Jareth stayed where he was.

"When does the magic ban begin? I have business to attend to in the Goblin City, I did not realise my powers would be prohibited."

"Oh Jareth, you really are quite predictable." His sister laughed harshly, and Jareth wished for a moment that they were still children so he could hit her without being a complete bastard. "You may go and visit your little chit, warn her of whatever plan you think I've hatched. I have no intention of breaking up your little romance. It will pass, as they all do. She will see you for what you are and tire of your infidelities and vices. Be back by twelve, that's when the first Elves are scheduled to arrive. No magic after that."

Jareth stalked out of the throne room without looking back. His fists were balled by his side, and he breathed heavily to control his anger.

When he had left the room, Juturna called a guard over.

"Follow him. Follow him to the Goblin City, or Above. Wherever he goes, I want my Fae guards to follow him."

* * *

Sarah was watching television, curled up in just her underwear to try and cool down. The house was cooler than outside but still felt stiflingly hot, even with every window open. It was still bright outside, but Sarah felt incredibly tired after a long day at work. She fell into a peaceful sleep on the sofa. She woke up with a start, hearing a loud crash of thunder that made her scream and jump to her feet.

Then she saw that it wasn't a summer storm to blame for the thunder but her stupid boyfriend, who was standing in the corner of the room.

"For fuck's sake Jareth!" She rarely swore, but her heart was beating so fast that she thought she might pass out from fright. "You know not to do that!" She was silenced when he ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms fiercely, holding her so tightly it hurt.

"You're safe, you're alright." He murmed into her hair, stroking her face. He was shaking, and Sarah tried to arrange herself in his arms so she could see his face.

"Of course I am. What's happened?" She asked, fear gripping her. "Can you put me down?" He kept hold of her but moved to the sofa, sitting down so she was curled against him. His arms held her tightly, his fingers digging into her arms.

"I'm not letting you go. Just let me hold you for a while, precious. Please?" He practically begged her, and she looked at his face carefully. He looked stressed, and she ran her fingers through his hair, something she knew always relaxed him. His fingers loosened their grip, and he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.

"What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you back for days. What's wrong?"

"I have to go again, I just needed to see you. I spoke with my sister, she knows about you."

"How?" Sarah asked, frowning. "Did you tell her?" Jareth shook his head.

"Of course I didn't." He spat, annoyed that Sarah would even ask. "She must have been spying on me. I cast a spell hundreds of years ago so she wouldn't able to track me using crystals, I think she used an Elvish spy to find me and then latched onto you. The Elves are almost entirely immune to magic, and I can't feel their presence like I can Fae. She showed you to me in one of her crystals. I tried so hard to stop her from finding you, my darling. I let you down."

"She'd have to find out about me eventually wouldn't she?" Sarah asked, confused as to why this was such a huge deal to him. She assumed her existence and place as Jareth's lover would not be a secret forever, and as long as Jareth had cast spells to protect her (as he'd assured her he had) she didn't understand the danger. "I mean, eventually we'll get married right?" She sounded unsure, and he kissed her gently on the lips.

"Of course. When the time comes, everyone can know that I am in love with the most beautiful woman in the world, and I'll be lucky to call you my wife." He stroked her cheek fondly, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It is not the time though; if you hadn't noticed Sarah, I'm worried about you at the moment. You're always tired, and I can no longer sense my magic within you." Sarah's eyes widened - he hadn't told her that before.

"It is too delicate a time to have my sister sticking her nose in." He continued, and he sighed heavily. "She's preventing the use of magic within her castle tonight. I have no way of avoiding attending, it would be a huge public slight against her and I can't put a foot wrong as far as etiquette goes. If I don't return within three days, you need to say the words. I will be duty bound to come to you if you say the words, they have an uncontrollable pull on me, magic embargo or not."

"Fine. Just..stay safe, Jareth. Everything will work out." Sarah said, trying to sound reassuring but not quite sure if she'd managed it.

"I hope so my love. Look after yourself, alright?"

"Wait." Sarah realised something. "If you can't sense any magic in me anymore, does that mean the process has failed? Am I going to die?" She asked, panic in her voice. Jareth kissed her hair and tried to calm her.

"No, love. I've asked my advisers and they've assured me that it will come back, stronger and more potent, as long as we keep joining together, which won't be a problem." He kissed her lightly. "I'm sure the magic is still within you, it's just hiding at the moment. Patience is all that's required." Jareth glanced at the clock against the wall, which was set to Underground time. The hands showed that it was quarter to twelve; fifteen minutes until his sister's ludicrous magic ban would be in place. He gently lifted her off of his lap and placed her onto the sofa. He stood up and removed his jacket, and Sarah noticed the clear outline of a dagger in his pants.

"I have to go. Everything will be fine, she's just caught me off guard. I should have expected it, been better prepared.." He was muttering to himself, and Sarah got up and pulled him to her.

He bent down and buried his head in her shoulder, and she could tell he was smelling her hair. It made her smile that someone so powerful could be calmed just by the smell of her shampoo.

"This is what she wants, Jareth. You're letting her win." Sarah reminded him of what he already knew.

"I know. I know. Before I go, I want to make sure the house is secure. I don't want you to leave here until I am back." He told her sternly, and she protested.

"I have work!"

"Call in sick, quit for two days, take unpaid leave. I don't care how you do it but you are not leaving this house. There are ways of repelling Elves from entering a structure, but I can't do anything about them getting to you if you are outside these walls. The enchantments I've already done should be enough to keep any creatures with magic out anyway. The only way I can assure your safety is that you do not leave this building. Promise me, love."

"I promise."

"Good. I have a question for you, Sarah."

"What?" She asked, and he looked pointedly at her scantily clad body.

"Did you forget that the house is full of goblins tonight?"

Sarah gasped and went to cover herself, before laughing uncontrollably.

"Just get out of here, Goblin King."

* * *

 **A/N: I have to admit, some of my interpretation of Elves is based on Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom..but it's mainly my imagination rather than any concrete source. Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I know this is a little different to my other story so thank you for sticking with me.  
**

 **Please review if you'd like to, I love hearing from you guys!**


	3. Holding The Baby

"Just get out of here, Goblin King."

The Goblin King laughed at her expression, and shook his head.

"I will soon, but there are things I need to do first."

Jareth spent several minutes walking around the house and casting spells over the doors and windows, even going to far as to place salt under the crack in the front door.

"Why salt?" Sarah asked, sitting on the stairs watching him frantically do his work.

"Salt blocks bad spirits coming into the house. It may not work, but it's worth a try." He said simply, closing his eyes and muttering yet another spell casting protection over the house. When he had finished, he held her close to him and said another incantation. The language he used when casting spells was strange, hypnotic, and Sarah felt a warmth spread over her. Suddenly she felt even more tired than she had a moment ago.

"What did you do?" She asked, stroking his face gently. He held her round her waist, hugging her close.

"This will help you sleep, and hopefully help you feel better. It will let your body concentrate on healing. Use the time I'm away to rest, love."

"You could have asked before you knocked me out." She said irritably, yawning. "You know how I feel about you drugging me."

"I'm sorry love, but needs must." He told her, lifting her into his arms again and took them to their bedroom. He laid her down on the bed, and she noticed the bedroom was much cooler than anywhere else in the house.

"What about work?" She asked suddenly. "I need to be able to call them in the morning.."

"You'll wake at 8am and call them, then you will go back to sleep." Sarah didn't have the energy to argue with him, but she disliked being told what to do. She would challenge him when she felt better.

"Did you install air conditioning in here or something?" She asked sleepily, shivering a little in the cold air, and he chuckled.

"Something like that. Get under the covers." He told her, wanting to get her comfortable before he had to leave.

"I wish you were getting under them with me."

Looking at the clock by their bed and seeing it was five to twelve, Jareth really had to go.

"Believe me love, so do I but I'm going to be late. Stay in the house. Have we got enough food?" He asked her; he didn't need to eat as often as Sarah did and often lost track of what they had in the house. He could summon food from the Underground, but Sarah liked to do things the mortal way. Once she had asked him to go food shopping whilst she was at work, and he came back with a bottle of wine and jar of mustard. Sarah laughed, trying to stop her eyes from closing.

"For two days? Yes. Any longer and I might starve to death, so come back quickly. Now go, before your sister gets mad at you. I love you." He kneeled on the bed beside her and pressed a kiss against her lips, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of her, deepening the kiss.

"Sarah, if you do that I'm never going to leave." He grumbled into her mouth and she laughed.

"I love you." He murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. "Keep yourself safe. No leaving the house. Please." She nodded her head, and she moved to kiss his cheek but in her sleepy delirium missed and kissed his eye instead. He rolled off her with a laugh and stood at the foot of the bed, watching her fondly as she fought against sleep.

She moved onto her side, her long brown hair spread out behind her like a cape. He didn't realise it was possible to love someone other than himself so much, and he knew he would do anything to keep her safe.

"I love you too baby." She slurred as the spell truly began to work, her eyes closed. "Don't.." she struggled to speak as she fought sleep. "Don't go with your dagger on view like that. People will think you're pleased to see them." And on that note, she was gone.

* * *

After making sure Sarah was sleeping soundly, Jareth transported himself to his bedchamber in his sisters castle. Seeing he had one minute to go until the magic ban, he used his powers to change into his formal attire he wore for royal occasions. He had chosen a high collared jacket, and for once he wore a shirt that did up to the neck. His mother was always critical of his flamboyant appearance, and in the interest on getting his parents on his side against Juturna, he decided to tone it down for the evening.

He made sure he carried his dagger but took heed of Sarah's warning, making sure that it was holstered rather more discreetly. Taking a weapon to a feast such as this one would be seen as a threat that could result in a challenge. He had no desire to fight tonight, but if he couldn't use his magic he had to have some way of protecting himself.

At the strike of twelve, he felt the energy in the castle shift. He could sense that Juturna had just placed a spell to block any magic other than her own. He could not normally sense so much detail within a spell, but as he and Juturna were twins, there magic was interlinked. They could not control one another's power, but when they were in close proximity they could always tell when the other had cast a spell.

It had been particularly irritating in childhood; once, Jareth had tried to make a girl fall in love with him. Juturna had sensed it, told the girl who promptly told everyone else. Most embarassing.

Juturna's spells had always been clumsy and this one was no different. He was confident that if he had to, he could break through the spell with little trouble. The power of Sarah's words would certainly be enough to break it, if an emergency arose.

Walking was irritating; he was so used to just transporting himself or flying that the long, boring walk through the unfamiliar corridors was highly inconvenient. Whenever he walked, it was normally with Sarah which made the entire ordeal far more pleasant. When he finally arrived at the Great Hall, he was formally announced.

The room had been set out for an enormous feast, and Jareth could see that several hundred people had already arrived. Looking around, he tried to see if he could see anyone he knew. He loathed standing alone at parties; he would either be approached by desperate politicians trying to lobby him about something or other, or angry ex lovers. He was in no mood for either tonight.

Unfortunately for him, the only person he knew in the room was Juturna, sitting in her throne. He was surprised to see her holding the babe in her arms. He hadn't had her down as the maternal type, and it was not usual that babies were present at feasts. He walked through the crowds, coming to a stop in front of her. Juturna looked up at him briefly, before turning her attention back to the baby in her arms.

"Hello sister. This must be my nephew." Jareth had always had a weakness for babies; an occupational hazard. Alaric was tiny, and he slept peacefully despite the noise of the hall. He had the pointed ears of the elves, but Jareth could see the first signs of Fae markings around his eyes. "I wasn't expecting to see him until tomorrow.

"Aelfric asked that the babe be present at the feast, at least for a while." Juturna shrugged. "I think he wishes to show him off, but I have no idea where he's gone."

"May I hold the child?" He asked, holding out his arms expectantly.

"If you wish." Juturna stood up and handed him the baby. She helped Jareth settle the babe in his arms. "Be careful." She warned him, touching the baby's head lightly. Jareth was surprised to see a softer side of his sister. The babe barely weighed a thing, and Jareth touched his tiny hands. Aleric's hand opened to clasp Jareth's index finger, and the Goblin King smiled down at the infant that had caused him so much trouble.

"Hello Alaric. I'm your Uncle Jareth." He told the sleeping babe, rocking him back and forth lightly. "And whatever your mummy tells you about me, you need to know it's a lie. Unless she tells you how handsome and funny I am." He looked at his sister with an eyebrow raised in faux surprise. "He's a sweet little thing, Jut. Are you sure he's yours?" He asked lightly.

"Quite sure, thank you. May I have him back?" Juturna asked, her mouth set in distaste. "I trust your visit Above was pleasant." She said almost conversationally as she cradled the child, and Jareth eyed her carefully.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Honestly brother, you are obsessed with idea that I am spying on you."

"Probably because it wouldn't be the first time, would it?" He said bitterly, and Juturna had the decency to blush. "We won't speak of it now, don't worry. But you should know that should you care to repeat your actions of six hundred years ago now, I will not be so forgiving."

"Jareth I-"

"Don't." He said angrily, not wanting to relive past traumas. Juturna opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by the sound of a bugle and Jareth turned to face the main door, knowing that the bugle signaled that the High King had arrived.

"His Majesty High King Hefeyd, Ruler of the Underground and Her Majesty Arethusa, Queen Consort." Jareth turned to see his parents walking in. The crowds parted to allow them through, and they both walked towards their children.

"Mother." Jareth knelt before her and kissed her hand. She patted his hair fondly, tugging on his hand to signal him to rise. "Father." Jareth bowed to his Father, who pulled him into a hug. Jareth embraced his father, ignoring all royal protocols. Stepping back, he stood next to his sister's throne. Juturna did not rise, Jareth noticed.

"This is certainly a surprise to see you two together." Arethusa exclaimed happily. "I hope you're getting along better now. And this handsome boy must be my grandson!" Without asking for her daughter's permission, she scooped the baby into her arms, clutching him tightly. "The last baby I held..well, it was both of you. I was so overjoyed at having two gifts I would hold you both constantly." She told them, staring down into the newborn's face with a blissful expression on her face.

Jareth's mother was hopelessly maternal, and Jareth often thought that if she was human she would have a huge brood of children and, by now, grandchildren to dote on. As it was, she felt unbelievably lucky to have two natural children.

He knew his feud with Juturna was a great worry to his mother, and they had both made an oath to their father hundreds of years ago never to argue in front of her. Jareth respected his mother too much to cause her pain, no matter how fraught his relationship with his twin was.

She was a plump woman, and her face was always creased into a smile. Her hair was grey now, but it had once been the same vibrant blonde as her children's hair. She wore it piled high, with an intricate golden tiara nestled at the front. This was not a state event, so the wearing of crowns wasn't needed, but Jareth took after his mother in their love of shiny things.

He respected his mother too much to cause her pain, and the only regret he had about his terrible relationship with his sister was that it upset his mother so much.

"I must say Juturna, we were most bemused by the restriction spell you have placed over the castle. What is it's purpose?" Their father asked irritably, his loud voice booming. Jareth resembled his father strongly, although the High King had grown rather fat in his old age. He was a tall man, and his large stature made him fairly intimidating, and Jareth watched as Juturna shrank back defensively.

"Aelfric felt that it would be more respectful to his people if there was no magic tonight. You know how the Elves can be." Juturna explained, and Jareth could see that she was trying desperately to stand her ground over their father, who shook his head.

"You should have informed me. My guards rely on magic to ensure my safety."

"I agree with you, father. I too have security concerns. Juturna must not understand the risks. It wouldn't be worth killing Aelfric, unless the assassin wanted the two miles of worthless land he calls a Kingdom and a wife who's face scares pigs."

Hefyed glanced at his wife, and glared at Jareth pointedly, reminding him not to cause trouble in front of his mother.

"Jareth, I doubt you have any concerns aside from whether or not you can conceive children when you've spent eight hundred years wearing such obscenely tight trousers." His sister said snidely. His mother tutted disapprovingly at Juturna's crude remark. "Nobody wants to kill you."

"The safest attitude when you are King is to assume everyone wants to kill you." Hefeyd told his daughter sharply. "Aside from his needlessly personal remarks, I agree with Jareth. I wish you to remove the restriction at once, daughter. The Elves are hardly affected by magic anyway, this entire exercise is pointless."

Juturna shifted in her seat uncomfortably, and Jareth eyed her suspiciously. She was planning something, he was certain of it, but he would never be as bold as to accuse her in front of their mother.

"If you will not remove it, I will." Jareth told her. He should have done it earlier, but now the High King wished it to be done his sister wouldn't be able to argue with him. With a wave of his hand, the familiar warmth of magic spread through his body as her spell was lifted. "It is done."

"How did you break through my spell so easily when your magic is blocked?" Juturna asked irritably, and Jareth shrugged. "If you could remove it so easily, why did you wait until now?"

"Perhaps he was just being polite, Juju." Their mother said, using yet another nickname Juturna loathed.

"A child could have reversed that spell. Really, living here amongst non magical creatures for so long as weakened you. It wouldn't take much." Jareth taunted her; she had always been obsessed with being powerful, and to insult her magic was the most hurtful thing he could do to her.

"I don't think anyone could accuse him of being polite, mother." Juturna said bitterly. She reached down and took Alaric from her mother, despite the older woman's protestations."Excuse me for a moment, I must find Aelfric and return this one to his nursery. It is almost thirteen, the feast will begin soon."

She left, walking away rather than using magic, and Jareth turned to his parents.

"Was there something odd about her to you?" He asked them, trying to sound like he genuinely cared. Really, he wanted to follow her. He wished he hadn't come alone, then he could have sent someone else to do the job.

"She's just had a baby, women can often be a little out of sorts after such an ordeal. Oh, excuse me darling, I see Myragna." Jareth waved his mother goodbye as she rushed off to see some elderly Fae woman Jareth vaguely recognised, and he turned to his father.

"Something is afoot, I would place money on it. She's plotting, I told you what she's been trying to do for months and-" The High King held up a hand to stop his son.

"Please son, don't cause trouble. Your mother can't stand it. Let us talk of more pleasant things - how is my old Kingdom?"

"Fine. The Labyrinth is thriving, though I haven't had a wished away child in a few years." Seven years, to be precise. "The rest of the land is doing quite well; we've had a few fractions in the East between the Goblins and the Dwarves but it seems to be settling down."

"Good. I've heard positive things from my council."

"I should hope so, I have been ruling for hundreds of years, I think I've got the hang of it by now." Jareth replied sarcastically; his father was still High King but had taken a rather more relaxed approach to the role in recent years and Jareth barely heard from him. "I actually have something I wish to discuss with you, of a personal nature."

"Oh yes?"

"Not here. Perhaps I could speak with you before the naming ceremony tomorrow?"

"Come to my chambers around ten tomorrow morning, we will discuss it then."

* * *

The feast dragged on for hours, and Jareth had to stay until his Father had left, as did everyone else. Royal protocol was something that he hated, especially when it meant he had to sit next to some dreary Elf prince for hours on end. Unfortunately, his father seemed to be having a wonderful evening and stayed until Jareth thought he might go out of his mind with boredom.

Elf feasts weren't the jolly affairs that Fae events were; there was no dancing, no music, just pointless conversation and copious amounts of ale. Everyone was dressed in dull shades of green and brown, and Jareth found the whole thing mind numbingly pointless.

When his father finally rose from the table, bright red and obviously drunk, Jareth got up and followed him out. Wishing his parents goodnight, he took himself to his bedchamber, chosing to use magic rather than wasting time walking. After carefully checking the room for any untoward energy, he summoned a crystal. Lying back on the bed and balancing the sphere on his finger tips, he watched.

In it, he saw Sarah, still sleeping soundly. He smiled at her image. She looked so beautiful in sleep, even with her mouth wide open.

Tomorrow, he was going to inform his father that he intended to ask her for her hand in marriage.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all your continued feedback. I've had so many kind words and it honestly makes me so happy that people are enjoying my work.**

 **MyraVallhallah - I imagine her as less intelligent than Cersei, with the face of Lysa Arryn (also as a shameless plug - yes I have watched GoT, check out my profile for various fanfictions).**

 **This is the last chapter I've written, I only have a few hundred words of the next one done. Is there anything in particular you would like to see in the next few chapters? Let me know!**


	4. Fatherly Approval

Jareth barely slept that night; he didn't require much sleep anyway, but he just lay awake thinking about Sarah. This was the first night they had been apart for almost a year, and he missed her. More than that, he was worried about her; her energy was weakening and she was always exhausted. He'd checked on her three times that night, concerned that Juturna would try and hurt her. He wondered if love was making him irrational.

He had always wanted to make Sarah his wife, and he felt like the time was finally right to propose. They had been together long enough that what the human's referred to as the "honeymoon" phase had worn off, but he was still utterly captivated by her. He was addicted to her, and he was sure he could never get enough of her.

It was more than physical though; she was everything he had hoped for in a partner, but thought he'd never find. She was kind, considerate of others but not to the point where she didn't take care of herself. She made him laugh and above all things, she wasn't afraid to be herself.

He was nervous about telling his father. Some Fae disproved of relationships with mortals, and he had certainly had words with his father in the past about the amount of lovers he had Above. Jareth wasn't sure if his problem had been that they were mortal or that his son was a "promiscuous cad with the morals of an alley cat". He believed those were the words his father had used. That was years before, and there had never been talk of marriage. Jareth hoped that his father had mellowed in his old age.

Although Jareth was King, he still needed his father's approval as the High King. If he said no to the match, Jareth would be under pressure to end his relationship with Sarah. He couldn't do that; not only would it destroy him, but she would die if he left her before the transformation was complete.

As the sun rose and the castle began to stir, Jareth let another crystal appear between his finger tips. It was 8am Above, and he watched as Sarah woke and groggily called her office to let them know she wouldn't be in. Then, after a quick trip to the bathroom (which he obviously didn't watch, he wasn't a pervert) she fell back to sleep. She looked better already, Jareth thought. Sleep was a marvelous healer.

He had hoped that Sarah would be further along in the transformation by now; it was becoming a strain spending so much time Above, and it would be nice if they could spend the odd night in the Goblin City to ease the pressure. The more time he spent away, the more chance there was for treachery. He would not risk her safety in that way, not for a second.

* * *

Finally, it was ten. Jareth took himself to the door leading to his father's chamber. Knocking on the door, he was surprised - and irritated - to see Juturna answer the door.

"Brother. What a pleasure." Juturna said sneeringly. She was dressed more casually than she had been the previous night, wearing a plain brown dress that made her look even more drab than usual. Her hair was pulled tight away from her face; really, it made her look severe and harsh - a perfect reflection of her personality, Jareth thought.

"You can't have had much pleasure in your life, then." He replied, entering the room without waiting for her to invite him in. He turned around, not seeing his father. "Where's Father?"

"I'm here, I'm here." His father sat in a chair wedged behind a pillar, not properly dressed and looking dreadful. "Nice to see you're on time. Your mother's gone to see the babe, we can't keep her away. Juturna was just telling me of the plans for later."

"Well if you're finished, I wish to speak with you alone Father. It is a matter of some delicacy." Jareth told his father, seeing Juturna roll her eyes. He glared at her. They were reduced to bickering infants in each others company.

"I have better things to do than listen to anything _delicate_ to do with you, dear brother. I shall leave and make sure the arrangements are all in place. Twelve o'clock in the ancient meadow." She told the two Kings, stalking out of the room and letting the heavy wooden door slam shut behind her. Hefyed held his head dramatically, groaning.

"I wish you two would settle things. You're both so damn loud." He muttered, taking a deep drink of water. Jareth eyed him with disdain.

"Perhaps if you'd had a little less ale last night, we wouldn't bother you so much."

"Don't mention ale." His father said, closing his eyes. "That Elvish stuff is too strong."

"When you're finished feeling sorry for yourself, there is something rather important I need to ask you."

"It's about your mortal, isn't it?" Hefeyd asked, still rubbing his temples. Jareth sat down opposite him heavily, feeling irritated.

"Juturna told you." He stated, folding his arms. It was no surprise at all that his sister had run to their father at the first opportunity. Jareth wouldn't have been surprised if she had her ear pressed against the door as they spoke. "I wondered how long she could keep that to herself."

"Mmm, just then. She really does love to stick that nose of hers in other people's business." His father said, and Jareth couldn't tell if he was amused or irritated.

"Indeed. I didn't tell her about it, she was watching me in a crystal. A nasty habit, spying on others." Jareth said pointedly, getting up and walking around the room aimlessly. There wasn't much to see, but sitting still for too long irritated him.

"I'll speak to her about it. She tells me you've marked a human. Is it true?" Jareth turned to face his father, who was staring straight at him. Jareth hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"I have. What of it?" Jareth asked haughtily, his eyes chalenging his father to question him. He would not stand for any criticism of his choice, and there was no way in hell anyone could change his mind. He had always been stubborn, but when it came to Sarah, he would carry a mountain on his back before giving her up.

"Is it serious? Another one of your fancies?" Hefeyd asked, well aware of Jareth's penchant for women. It was no secret at all that Jareth had made the most of being a bachelor; in the past, there had been rumours that a different woman emerged from his bedchamber every morning. The Fae were promiscuous, but Jareth lacked the discretion needed for royalty.

"Not at all. I love her."

"You've said that before."

"It's different. I've been living with her Above for nearly a year. Every night. Nobody else, just her."

"Well, haven't you matured." His father said sarcastically. "It's about time you grew up and accepted your responsibilities as King. This obsession you have with humans and living Above is ridiculous, especially when you have a kingdom to run. There are countless Fae that would give everything to be with you. You've certainly tried a few on for size."

"They are boring." Jareth said stubbornly. "Vain little airheads with a lust for power, all of them."

"And your fancy thing, does she want to be Queen?"

"She wants me." Jareth said simply. He smiled as he thought of Sarah, happy living their ordinary life together. "That's all she wants."

"Tell me about your human. Tell me why you love her." Hefyed had always tried to understand his son. Jareth knew he was lucky to have a fairly forgiving father; he had given him the throne even after criticizing his debauchery above.

"Her name is Sarah. She's twenty one. She works in publishing. She loves watching clouds move across the sky, and she hates English weather. She cries when she sees stray dogs, she laughs when she sees pigeons stealing people's food. She never asks for anything, and yet she gives me everything even though I do not deserve it." He took a shaky breath; he was babbling and he looked to see if his father wanted him to stop.

The old man was listening intently, and waved his hand to tell him to go on.

"I want to give her the world, I want her to be the mother of my children. I wish to share my life with her, my whole life. She's willing to give up her mortality, to become something completely different out of love for me. It is causing her difficulties and she never complains or even tells me because she doesn't want to worry me. She is my soulmate, I knew the very first time that I saw her that we were destined to be one."

"A very convincing speech. Is that why you came here, to tell me you were in love with a human?" Hefeyd said, getting up and pouring some water into a glass. He grasped his head, groaning. Jareth eyed his father warily, wondering if he had been listening at all.

"I wish to marry her, is that not obvious? As you're the High King I require your blessing before I propose."

"Marry her? Jareth, she is a mortal. I assumed you just wished her to be your official mistress."

"The transformation has begun, and it should become more powerful any time now. She will be a Fae in hardly any time at all." Jareth enthused, and his father scoffed.

"Not a true Fae. She may find it difficult to find acceptance in our society. As would your children."

" _My_ society is full of Goblins, dwarves and things that I'm not even sure what they are. They all love her, and it is the opinion of the Goblin Kingdom that I value, not the Fae. I have no doubt that she will make an excellent queen, and that they will follow her unwaveringly."

"She's been to your Kingdom?" Hyefed asked in surprise. "If she's not yet Fae, the magic would be too strong for her to withstand for long."

"She was there as a runner." Jareth admitted, and his father raised an eyebrow. "She defeated the Labyrinth." His father stood, and walked around the room a few times in silence. Jareth watched him carefully from his chair.

"She defeated the Labyrinth? Why was I not informed of this?" His voice was terse, and Jareth could see his fists balled by his side.

"It did not concern you. You were off somewhere with Mother. The news did not spread, no harm was done."

"If someone defeated the Labyrinth, there is a major weakness within it. Within you as King. The link between you and the Labyrinth should have been strong enough that thirteen hours would be enough for the runner to give up." Jareth thought it best that he didn't mention Sarah had actually done it in less.

"There is no weakness, in either the Labyrinth or it's King." Jareth said sharply, leaning forward defensively. "She was meant to defeat it, it was fate. Somebody had to win eventually."

"You allowed her to win. You shirked your duty. You betrayed your Kingdom for the sake of your lust."

"I assure you I played my part rather well, Father. Her will was too strong; she was a clever little thing. I fell in love with her, yes, but I did not let her win. She did that on her own." Jareth decided not to mention the help she'd gotten from her little friends. "I did nothing for six years after she left the Labyrinth; if I truly wanted her because of lust, I would have just imprisoned her."

"I would like your mother and I to meet her, before I make my decision."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"I believe Mother would scare her off." Jareth said lightly, knowing how excited his mother would be at the prospect of her son finally settling down, especially with someone who could give him more than one child. "You'll have to come Above if you wish to meet her. I am not prepared to bring her Underground until the wedding. I promised her a normal life, at least for a while."

"A normal life? Honestly Jareth, you know my feelings about you playing at being human. This whole situation is absurd."

"I don't see what's absurd about it; you have always wanted me to marry. Now I shall. Once we are married we will spend the majority of our time in the Goblin City. Is it wrong to marry for love rather than political gain?"

"Not wrong," his father said, sitting back down. "Just unusual."

"Don't tell mother today. I don't wish Juturna to know until the announcement is made, though if she continues to spy on me I'm sure she'll know by the time I leave this room."

"I will talk to her about the spying." His father said firmly. "Spying on one's enemies is justified, but we are a family and I will remind her of that. I'll tell your mother of your plans when we return home. If that's all you wished to discuss, I think we had both better get ready for this naming ceremony."

* * *

"I name the child Alaric, Prince of the Western Elf Lands."

Jareth watched indifferently as the Elf High Priest held the screaming naked child aloft. Really, there was no dignity in being a baby.

His sister had attempted to look regal, wearing a purple gown and weaving her hair with twigs and leaves. Whilst this looked fine on Elvish women, it only managed to make Juturna look as if she had been through a hedge backwards.

Elvish naming ceremonies were long and tedious, and this one lasted until the early hours of the morning. There was yet another feast, and Jareth managed to avoid talking to his sister or her husband, by either talking to his mother's friends or simply hiding behind a tree. He knew it wasn't very regal to hide behind trees, but there were so many in this particular field that it seemed like the easy option.

When his father finally left, Jareth took himself back to the Goblin Kingdom without saying goodbye. It was a relief to be out of his sister's grasp, but he was only in his castle to kill time.

Jareth had someone else he needed to see.

* * *

He was desperate to get back to Sarah, but there was an Aboveground tradition he needed to keep. Sarah was obsessed with tradition and superstitions, and he knew it would mean a lot to her if he asked her father for permission to marry her. Jareth didn't see the point himself; the man had been so rude to his daughter that Jareth didn't care whether he blessed the marriage or not.

He closed his eyes, and tried to remember where her father worked. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was on a quiet street, standing by a door marked "Robert Williams - Attorney" and was pleased that he had remembered. He quickly checked his reflection in the window to make sure that the glamour he always used was in place. He didn't think Sarah's father would approve of him anyway, but having long hair and sparkly eye makeup might be pushing it a bit too far. Pushing the door open, he walked into the lobby.

"Excuse me sir, may I help you?" In the foyer of Robert's office was a blonde receptionist, sitting behind a desk. She looked at him with narrowed eyes, and Jareth did his best to be charming.

"Yes, I'd like to see Mr Williams."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, this is a personal visit."

"He's busy at the moment. What's your name? I'll let him know that you're here."

"Jareth King."

"One moment Mr King." The receptionist got up and disappeared round the corner. He heard her knock on a door, and the murmuring of voices. She came back with a confused look on her face. "He'll see you now."

"Thank you so much." He replied smoothly, and she lead him to Robert's office.

He had never met Sarah's father, though he had seen photographs. He was standing up behind a desk, and he was a most imposing figure. He looked nothing like her, tall and stern. Of course, he may have just looked stern because of the present company, Jareth thought. Jareth heard the door close behind him.

"So you're Jareth." It was a statement rather than a question.

"Yes, Sir."

"Don't call me Sir. You look the same age as me."

"I'm thirty six." That was the age he and Sarah had decided was most plausible when he'd met her mother. Her father was in his late forties, so Sarah had decided it was important there was enough distance between their ages that things didn't get creepy. Of course, considering Jareth was almost sixteen hundred years old, he was old enough to be her great grandfather several times over.

"Hmm. I must admit I'm surprised to see you. I haven't spoken to Sarah in months."

"I know. She's most upset about it."

"I'm most upset" his voice mocked Jareth's accent "about her shacking up with some guy twice her age in a foreign country." He retorted, and Jareth had to do his best to remain charming. He'd never had to impress a girl's father before, and this was an uphill battle.

"I assure you I treat your daughter with the utmost respect. That's why I've come here today. I was in the area on business." He said lightly. "May I sit?"

"Go ahead."

"I won't waste your time with pleasantries, I'll get to the point. I wish to marry Sarah."

"I don't know why you're telling me, she doesn't give two hoots about what I think."

"Oh, she does. She puts more value into your opinion of her than she does into her own. She craves your approval."

"She hasn't done much to warrant it. Dropping out of college, running away to London..I want the best for her, but she has failed time after time." Jareth bristled at this, but he kept his cool.

"Not failed. She has changed her path, that's all. She is thriving."

"Her mother tells me she's doing quite well." His voice was stiff, and Jareth wondered if he was really so against talking to Sarah that he had been frequently talking with his ex wife instead. Sarah had told him her mother and father hadn't spoken for years, so to hear that they had been talking regularly was a surprise.

"I'm sure Sarah would tell you the details if you called her."

"If you've come here to tell me to call my daughter, you're wasting your time. I've tried to talk to her.."

"No, you haven't. You've tried to tell her what to do, and she refused to listen. That's not the same as trying to talk to her."

"She's twenty one years old, she won't listen to me, she won't be reasonable. She's too young to get married. I married her mother at that age, she was too flighty, too immature for marriage. Sarah's very like her mother."

"I know Linda very well." Jareth told him. "She and Sarah are alike, but not in every way. If you'll allow me to say, I think you're so hard on Sarah because of the resemblance between her and her mother. If you stopped seeing her as Linda and started seeing her as Sarah, you might see what a wonderful daughter you have."

"You think I don't know that she's wonderful?" Robert asked. "She's my daughter and I love her."

"If you do, you have a funny way of showing it." Jareth said scathingly. "Every time she makes an effort to speak to you, she ends up sitting by the phone in tears. Most people would have given up trying by now, but I know she still wants to contact you. That's why I came here today - to have your approval of our relationship would mean everything to her."

"I don't give you my approval. I think her getting married aged twenty one would mean her getting divorced by twenty three and that's not what I want for her. I'm a lawyer, Mr King. I see this kind of thing all the time."

Jareth sighed - he had expected it to be difficult; Sarah certainly got her stubbornness from somewhere.

"Very well. I can accept that, you barely know me from Adam. I don't care whether you give me your permission or not, I love your daughter and I intend to let her make the decision of whether or not she wants to marry me. I would ask one thing though - please talk to Sarah. It would mean so much to her to hear from you. I know she misses young Toby terribly."

"She's all he talks about." Robert admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "I didn't give him the birthday or Christmas gifts she sent him."

"She suspected as much." In fact, he had summoned crystals on both occasions at her request. They and watched as the man had lied and told the young boy that his sister had forgotten him. The look on Toby's face made Sarah break down crying.

"When are you going to ask her?" Robert asked, frowning.

"Soon. I haven't decided when, but it will be within the month."

"Let me think about it. You obviously care about her." He said begrudgingly. "Her mother tells me she has a steady job now. I suppose that's something."

"She does. She's very good at it, too. She's writing a novel as well. You have a very hard working daughter, Mr Williams."

"Perhaps I should call her."

"Yes. Call her tomorrow." Jareth wanted to see her first. "But, if you would, don't tell her I visited you today. I'd prefer to keep the proposal a surprise, and she'll get upset if she thinks I've been interfering."

"I still haven't given you my permission."

"I don't require your permission. I merely wished to seek it."

* * *

Time differences meant that by the time he finally reached London, it was late Wednesday afternoon. The heatwave had broken, and summer rain was pouring down outside. He appeared silently in the living room of their home, and smiled at the sight of Sarah watching television. He coughed lightly, and she jumped.

"You're home!" Sarah ran at him, jumping onto him and hooking her legs round his hips. She kissed him happily, cupping his face and squishing his cheeks together, something that he hated but she loved. "I never thought I'd miss you so much. Don't leave me again." He kissed her deeply, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He had forgotten to undo the glamour, and he still had short hair. Sarah pulled away and looked at him suspiciously. "Where have you been? Did you go somewhere else Above instead of coming straight home to me?"

"No, love. I missed you too. You seem brighter." Her skin had lost the pallid dullness that had been there for several weeks, and her eyes shone. She was dressed in pyjamas, but she didn't seem as exhausted.

"I feel so much better. You were right, I guess I was a little tired. I didn't even notice it."

"Let me look at you properly." He put her down and ran his eyes over her carefully. Removing his gloves, he placed a hand over her heart. He closed his eyes, concentrating. Beneath his palm, he could sense her magic gathering underneath her skin in response to his. "I can feel it Sarah." He whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

"Feel what?"

"The magic. It's strong, when I left there was nothing at all. This is amazing." He said breathlessly, trying to understand how it had happened so quickly.

"Is it? I don't feel anything. Must have been all that sleep I had." Sarah shrugged, resting her head on his shoulder. She stroked his arm lazily, running her fingers down to his bare hands. He curled his fingers around hers, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it fondly.

"Maybe." Jareth thought it was a little sudden for such a drastic surge in power. "I need to check that the protection spells are still in place." He let go of her hand and moved to walk away from her, but she had other plans.

"Wait." Sarah said, pulling him to her by his shirt collar. "You've been away for two whole days. If we wait much longer to make love, the magic might begin to fade..so really, you should take me to bed right now. Just to make sure I don't die." She said, feigning concern. He grinned wolfishly at her, and scooped her up in his arms. She laughed, throwing her arms round him to steady herself.

"Well, if it's a matter of life and death, I really mustn't delay."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much for all your reviews. I don't have anything written for the next chapter yet and I go back to work next week, so the updates might slow down a bit. Thanks for all your feedback! Suggestions for what you would like to see are welcome. Guest, thanks for your suggestion about putting Sarah's parents in their place..well, that's her father down!**

 **I'd love to hear from you!**


	5. Trouble In Paradise

"Do you have to go?" Sarah asked him, sitting up in bed. He looked over at her whilst buttoning his shirt, and wished that he didn't. The sheets were tucked around her, and Jareth could just see her bare shoulders. He always got dressed without using magic when he was with Sarah, ever since she admitted that she liked watching him. It made him seem more normal, and he was happy to allow her that small bit of normality.

"I do, my love. I'm surprised your work gave you the rest of the week off."

"I told them I had flu and they insisted I take the whole week. They're terrified of getting sick. I was finished with my big project so I didn't have any deadlines or anything. I'll be lonely without you." The early morning light flooded over her, and Jareth thought she looked like an angel.

"I still want you to take it easy, love. The magic might be stronger but if you don't rest it could knock you out. Sleep. I've told the Goblins they can go back to their homes, so you'll be alone. I'll check the spells before I leave, that should be all the protection you need. I'll be able to get to you quickly should anything go wrong."

"Would you relax? Nobody's going to try to kill me. There's more chance I'll die of boredom."

"Perhaps you could see Haggle." Jareth suggested lightly, and Sarah shook her head, tucking her knees under her chin.

"Hoggle. You know I haven't seen him in a long time. I pushed them away, they won't want to see me."

"He asks about you, you know. I'm sure he doesn't hold a grudge."

"Maybe I'll see him soon. But not now. There's too much to explain."

"When we're married, you'll see him anyway." Jareth turned away from him and cursed himself for mentioning marriage. They had discussed it before, of course, but he wanted to let the subject drift from her mind before he proposed.

"When we're married?" She asked with a wry smile. Jareth began putting his trousers on, tucking the long shirt into the waistband. She watched him, waiting for his reply. He turned back towards her, smiling.

"Yes, when." Jareth wished to move away from the subject, not wanting to spoil the surprise when he eventually proposed. "So what are you going to do?"

"I should probably write. I'm not so far away from the end now, I suppose I can use this time off to finish the story." Sarah said, trying to motivate herself to get out of bed.

"You still haven't told me what it's about." He did up his trousers, and sat down to pull his boots on. Now all the ceremonial events were finished, he could dress more casually to attend to his duties in the Goblin City. "Will I ever get to read it?"

"Of course. It's just..it's a little personal." Sarah told him, watching as he struggled to get the leather over his knees. "Have you ever thought about wearing sneakers?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." He said, sneering at the very idea of wearing sports shoes. Even in his mortal disguise he always dressed elegantly. "Sarah, I believe I have studied every inch of you. What's the use in hiding from me?"

"This is different. If you don't like my writing.." she hesitated "If you didn't like my writing, I would feel, I don't know.."

"Like I didn't like you?" He suggested, pulling on the other boot. "Sarah, I love you. Your writing is an extension of you, how could I not like it?"

"Hmm." She shrugged. "So, no way I can convince you to forget about your Kingdom and stay in bed with me all day?"

"I'll take Sunday off, I promise. Then we can stay in bed all day." He walked over to the bed, and pulled her to him. "In bed..in the bath..on the floor.." He growled into her ear and she giggled, kissing him playfully. He rolled off the bed, standing by it and watching her as she began to get up. "But now, I really have to go. Write, rest, whatever you want. Just stay in the house. I'm going to the front door to check the spells and then I'm going." He kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Bye love. See you tonight." She said with a smile, reaching for her robe.

"See you tonight."

Jareth left the room and transported himself to the front door. Placing a hand on the wood, he closed his eyes. All the spells he had cast were tethered to this door, the threads of magic spreading round the house but all coming back to this point. He could sense if anyone had tried to cut the threads and weaken the defenses he had placed.

There were tiny, almost undetectable traces of other people's magic within his own, and Jareth tried to focus. Someone had been here, someone had tried to break the barriers but they were clearly not powerful enough. Jareth opened his eyes and tried to keep calm. There was nothing he could do with such little evidence, and he hoped that the strength of his magic would be enough to keep Sarah safe.

Then, he heard a scream.

"Jareth!" He heard her voice call to him in a panic, "Jareth, are you here? Help me!" Blind fear surged through him, and he shut his eyes to steady himself before transporting himself to Sarah.

He took himself to their room, and looked around for her but she wasn't there. The door to their bathroom was open, and he hoped to high Heavens that she was in there.

"Sarah?" He asked shakily, and pushed the door. He let out a relieved breath as he saw her staring into the mirror, her dressing gown hastily thrown over her shoulders. "Oh thank God. What's wrong?"

"Look." She said quietly, and turned to him. The area around her eyes was red raw, as if someone had scraped away the skin. "This just happened. It hurts." She said desperately, and Jareth tried not to wince at the sight of blood trickling down her face.

"Your markings." Jareth said in awe, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He reached behind her for a tissue and wiped the blood away gently. He tied her dressing gown properly, and leaned his head on her shoulder and stared into the mirror with her. He was smiling, she was not. "Your markings are growing. Sarah, this is wonderful!"

"It doesn't feel wonderful," she said through gritted teeth, a tear rolling down her cheek. "It feels as though someones pushing a knife through my skull."

"I'm sorry my love. Markings normally develop in the womb so we feel no pain." Sarah grunted in response, and he grabbed her hands, spinning her round to face him. He looked into her eyes, his face serious. "This is a _good_ thing, Sarah. We've been waiting for a sign that your powers are coming. This is a marvelous step, and so quickly after the last one." Sarah nodded mutely, feeling like a small child being told that eating broccoli was for their own good.

"I thought I'd have longer until my markings came through." She said quietly, turning back to stare at her face in the mirror. She was shaking, the shock of what was happening making her feel dizzy. "How am I meant to explain this to my mom? To work?" She pointed at her eyes, and Jareth brushed his fingers gently over the skin. "Can you heal them? Get rid of them?"

"No." He said curtly, removing his hands from her face, and Sarah blinked at his tone of voice. "I will not get rid of them. You will be Fae and you must have markings, it will be hard enough for people to accept you even with them. I'm sorry if they are an inconvenience for you, Sarah, but I will not tolerate you asking me to remove them. I am risking everything for you and you ask me to remove the one outward sign that you are mine? Make things a little easy for me Sarah." He was rather sharp with her, and she shrank back from him.

"Jeez, sorry I asked. Shouldn't you be going?" Sarah asked, pushing past him and getting into bed. She got under the covers and pulled them over her head. Jareth looked at the lump on the bed and regretted being so abrupt with her.

"Sarah.." He walked to the bed and sat down. She shuffled away from him.

"Just leave me alone." She said, the sound of her voice muffled underneath the bed clothes. "I wouldn't want to make things _more difficult_ for you by making you late."

"Sarah, I didn't mean it." He waited for a response, and Sarah slowly inched out of the covers. She looked at him, her eyes red and watery.

"What's said is said." She mumbled, using his words from years ago. He tried to think of a response, but he couldn't. He glanced at the clock, and realised that he was meant to be hearing petitions in five minutes.

"Sarah, I have to go, I'm sorry." Sarah was under the blankets again, ignoring him. "I'll see you later. I love you."

The pile of bedding said nothing.

* * *

His words had stung her, far more than the open wounds on her face. She would never be accepted by his people, she would never truly be his Queen. All of this was for nothing. She had fooled herself to think that they could be happy together, that he could love an ordinary human. She stewed under the covers for a few hours, falling into an angry sleep. Her eyes hurt like hell, and when she woke up it was because they were bleeding again.

She padded downstairs to the kitchen and searched for the first aid box she kept for emergencies (though Jareth had insisted there was no point as he would always be able to heal any injuries). Taking out bandages and band aids, she felt like crying. His words hurt, these stupid markings hurt, and she felt like she was a massive screw up. The familiar, bitter sting of failure overwhelmed her.

She took her supplies to a mirror and examined her reflection closely. The wounds were small but obvious, and ran from the corner of her eyes to above her eyebrow, like Jareth's markings. She wondered if her markings would look exactly like his, or if she would get her own colours. She wondered if they would have identical markings to signify the fact she was his mate. His possession.

She felt as though she was losing her identity; everything she had now was intertwined with Jareth. Even her transition to Fae was entirely dependent on his stupid penis. The only thing in her life that didn't involve Jareth was her job, and she couldn't even go to that because he insisted she stay in the house. Her humanity was slipping away, and she didn't even know what she would have to call her own once it was gone.

She cleaned her eyes with cold water and cotton pads, not wanting to put any chemicals on them in case it somehow ruined everything. Once they were clean, she decided band aids would be enough to cover them. She looked ridiculous with a huge dressing covering each eyebrow. Taking a deep breath, she was happy they were covered up.

She kept replaying Jareth's words in her head; the words themselves were bad enough, it was like he was saying she wasn't willing to give up everything to be with him. But there was something else; the tone of his voice was different, yet familiar at the same time. She had heard it before.

Maybe this was all a game to him.

* * *

Jareth watched her dress her wounds, the crystal balanced on his fingertips as he sat sprawled in his throne. He was alone, the Goblins all fleeing when they realised what a foul mood he was in. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with her, but the idea of healing her markings flared anger within him. He had a temper, he knew, but he had tried so hard to keep it in check.

He had been on edge for the last two days because of his sister's interfering, and he had taken it out on Sarah. He still couldn't understand the sudden speed of her transformation, and he was worried that it was too quick. He was told it would take a year or more, so to see such rapid progress was alarming. Something was wrong, he would stake money on it. He just couldn't work out _what_ was wrong.

He had trawled through every book he could find in his library to do with human transformation, and there was nothing helpful. He felt helpless, and worst of all she was furious at him. Things were not going as smoothly as he had hoped they would; she was clearly feeling overwhelmed, and instead of trying to help her understand the change she was going through he simply thought of himself.

* * *

Sarah sat down on the sofa and switched on the TV. She felt miserable, lost in a wave of self pity. She was jolted out of her trance when the phone rang. She walked into the hallway and picked it up, wondering who would be calling in the middle of the day.

"Hello?"

"Sarah?" The voice at the other end was one she hadn't heard for months.

"Dad? Is everything alright?" She said, panicking that someone was wrong with Toby.

"Yes, everything's fine. I rang your office but they said you were sick. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just the flu."

"I hope that boyfriend of yours is taking care of you." Sarah was surprised to hear him refer to Jareth as her boyfriend, when he had mentioned him before it was usually "that man". "Not rushing away on any more business trips."

"He's at work right now, but yes, he's looking after me fine." She said, though she certainly didn't feel like saying nice things about Jareth right now. She didn't understand her dad's comment about business trips. "Why are you calling?" She asked warily. "You made it pretty clear the last time you didn't have anything nice to say."

"I know. Sarah, I want to apologise. I've been thinking a lot about you and I know that I've behaved like a jackass. You're my daughter, and I should be more supportive of your choices."

"Wow." Sarah couldn't think of anything to say; she had dreamed of this conversation for so long that it didn't feel real. "Um. Thanks."

"I was thinking, maybe I could come and visit you. Bring Toby. He's got a few weeks of summer left, and I know he'd love to see you."

Sarah's heart leapt at the thought of seeing her brother again, but then she remembered the markings on her face. How would she explain those? And if Jareth wouldn't even let her leave the house, how could she justify that to her already wary father?

"That would be great dad, but we're actually..um..having some work done to the house, so there'd be no place for you to stay."

"I believe hotels exist in London, Sarah." Her father told her dryly. "If you don't want to see me, I'd understand."

"No, no I do Dad, it's just maybe now isn't the right time. I'm so busy with work, I have a bunch of deadlines, I'd probably hardly be able to see you. I'm going to come to America with Jareth next time he has business there. It shouldn't be too long. I could come see you then." Sarah knew that she would be able to get Jareth to take her whenever she wanted, but she wanted to wait until she knew what was happening with her own body.

"Wonderful."

"Dad, why are you suddenly apologizing now? It's been months. You're not dying or something are you?"

"No, Sarah. I just realised life is too short to be angry with the people you loved. I just want you to be happy, and if living there with him makes you happy then I can't stand in your way."

Sarah burst into tears.

"Sweetheart, are you okay? Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong." She said weakly down the phone, trying to compose herself. "I'm just really happy to hear from you is all."

"You promise you'll tell me if there's anything wrong? If you aren't happy.." Sarah cut her father off before he had a chance to question her relationship.

"No, Dad. I'm really happy. I'm just not feeling good, this flu's got me all weepy."

"I'll let you go rest, kiddo."

* * *

An hour or so later, the doorbell rang. Sarah moved off the couch to look out of the window; she could see that it was Linda.

"Oh shit." Of all the times her mother had terrible timing, this was it. Sarah was tempted to just leave it, but Linda looked up just in time to see Sarah and waved. "Shit shit shit." Sarah tried to look as sick as she could and went downstairs to answer the door.

"I brought you soup." Linda told her, barging in. Sarah appreciated the gesture but it was another example of Linda trying desperately to make up for missing most of Sarah's childhood.

"Thanks mom." She croaked dramtically. "I'm really not feeling good, I was just going to go back to bed."

"What happened to your eyebrows?" Her mother ask, moving to touch the band aids over Sarah's eyes. Sarah dodged her and moved away, shrugging.

"I, um, had a bad wax. It was too hot and it burnt my skin."

"On both sides? Isn't that a little careless?"

"She was new." Sarah shrugged, barely able to believe that her mom seemed to be buying her terrible lie. "And she hardly spoke any English. I don't know mom, it'll heal soon."

"Well, I have to go anyway. I'm going to lunch with a friend near here. She's actually outside, do you want to meet her?"

"Not really, mom. I'm sure she's very nice but I currently look like I've been digested by someone. Who is it?"

"I've not known her long, she's called Judith. She is so great honey, you'll love her."

"Well, give my apologies to Judith but I wouldn't want to give her the flu."

"Just wave to her." Her mother urged her, and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Mom, I'm sure your friend doesn't care about some random woman waving to her. Can I please go back to bed?"

"Fine." Sarah opened the door for her mother, and there was a woman waiting outside. "Oh, you must be Judith." Linda brushed past her daughter to stand on the doorstep with her friend. "Nice to meet you, sorry I'm not feeling so great." Judith stuck out her hand, and Sarah shook it. She was surprised the woman wanted to touch her, given that she thought she had the flu.

"Not to worry. I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but could I use your telephone? " The woman spoke in a clipped English accent, and Sarah stared at her for a second. Judith had long, bright blonde hair and sharp, pointed features. It felt like Sarah had seen her before, and at the same time she had no idea who she was.

"Um, yeah, sure." Sarah stepped out the way to let her in. Judith stepped forward, and as her foot crossed the threshold, she shrank back suddenly. Sarah watched her with a bemused expression.

"Actually, I'll just use the one at the restaurant. I won't take up your time. Well, we best be off Linda. I hope you feel better, Sarah."

Sarah waved the two women away and went back upstairs. She heated the soup, put it in a bowl and took it to her bedroom. Even though she wasn't strictly sick, she still loved chicken soup. She got into bed, wishing to go back to sleep and wake up when she didn't feel so terrible. It was almost five in the Goblin City, and Sarah hoped Jareth would be home soon. She was feeling terrible about being so harsh to him earlier and wanted to talk to him properly. She ate the soup quickly, and felt tiredness consume her. Closing her eyes, she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jareth arrived home a little after eight, and called out for Sarah. There was no reply, so he took himself to their bedroom to change, hoping she'd be in there. He smiled when he saw her, fast asleep and curled up in a ball. He took off his boots and slipped into the bed next to her, pressing himself as close as he could get. She was so warm, and he felt that familiar sense of happiness that he always experienced when he came home to her. She began to stir, and he wrapped his arms round her and whispered into her ear.

"I'm sorry darling." She turned over sleepily, and wrapped herself around him so they were entangled.

"I'm sorry too." She said thickly, yawning. "I shouldn't have made a big deal out of it."

"No, sweetheart. I'm sorry for speaking so harshly. You only had natural concerns. I'm stressed at the moment and I took it out on you. I shouldn't have done it, and I won't do it again." He was still talking quietly, the atmosphere of the room peaceful once more.

"I do have stuff I need to talk to you about." Sarah said dozily, still clinging to him. "Not now though. Sleep now."

"Okay darling. We can talk about whatever you want." He said gently, and she began to fall back to sleep. He coughed to wake her, and she grunted at him. "Can you let go of me? I'll get ready for bed, then we can sleep." Sarah reached up to him and kissed him deeply. "Don't you want to sleep?" He asked her amusedly.

"I've got a better idea than sleep." She began unbuttoning his shirt.

Jareth lay next to Sarah a while later, smiling to himself. They did say makeup sex was the best kind.

As he drifted off to sleep besides an already unconscious Sarah, he placed a hand over her heart. As her magic met his, there was something else there. He frowned, sitting up and rolling Sarah onto her back. She mumbled something, but he ssh-ed her as he tried to focus.

There was a third magical imprint within Sarah, and Jareth swore out loud when he realised who it belonged to.

Juturna.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay so I know the updates are super frequent at the moment. There is a reason for this; I have an illness which affects my activity and mental concentration levels, and when I'm well I write as much as I can and put it up as quickly as I can before I lose confidence/the ability to edit. I'm hoping to get this whole story finished before I get ill, I have so many unfinished stories that I forget all the ideas for when I get sick. So I'm sorry if having so many updates is annoying anybody.  
**

 **I honestly appreciate all the lovely words you guys send me, and it's making me so inspired I can't even believe it. I'd say this probably has about 5 chapters left, but I don't want to make it too long so we'll see.**

 **Anyway, sorry for yet another update! Please review!**


	6. Dining With The Devil

Jareth lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling. Sarah slept soundly beside him, snoring softly as she always did.

He had decided not to tell her about Juturna. It could be nothing; it could be everything. There was nothing he could do without all the facts, and he didn't want to worry Sarah. There was nothing she could do to protect herself that Jareth couldn't do for her.

He had spent hours that night with his hand over Sarah's naked chest (if she'd woken up, he probably would have gotten a slap for touching her up in her sleep) feeling the delicate flow of her new magic under his hand. Juturna's magic had gotten weaker and weaker as Jareth tried to replace it with his own.

The imprint was weak, as if she had brushed past Sarah in the street. He was confused as to how it had even gotten there in the first place. Sarah hadn't even left the house. Jareth wondered if it was something Juturna had done to him without him noticing, but considering he could tell even if she cast a spell to kill a fly, he doubted it very much.

He should have just asked Sarah, but he didn't want to worry her. She was stressed already, and even as she slept he could see that her nose was crinkled as it always was when she was exhausted. He glanced over Sarah's sleeping body to the Above clock she kept on her side of the bed. It was 3AM. Jareth didn't require much sleep, but he was particularly tired tonight.

He took deep breaths, and decided that before he went to sleep he would check Sarah's magic one more time. The soft vibrations it spread through him relaxed him. He rolled her onto her front and placed his hand on her chest and his head on her shoulder. In the darkness, he could see their magic meet in the middle in soft, golden flecks of light. It was amazing.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled. "I've told you not to grope me when I'm asleep Jareth."

"Ssh darling. Look, open your eyes." She did as she was told, and looked down at Jareth's hand. "Isn't that beautiful?"

"Is that your magic?" She whispered, stroking his hair. She could hardly believe how beautiful the golden light was, how much power was inside the man she loved.

"Both of ours, my love. Both."

Sarah stared at it for what felt like hours, watching the light dance between Jareth's hand and her chest. It didn't feel real; she was just an ordinary girl, how could she have any kind of power at all?

"I can't believe this is happening." She told him, and he moved his hand away and pulled her close to him. She buried her face in his chest as she always did.

"In a good way or bad?" He asked her, running his hand lazily up and down her back.

"Good. It's just quite a lot to take in." He could feel her face move against his chest, enjoying the way her breath tickled his skin. It was moments like this, snuggled together in the middle of the night, that reminded him how human she was, how human she made him feel.

"I will always keep you safe Sarah. You know that, don't you?" He asked her softly.

She looked up at him, puzzled at his sudden declaration.

"I know. We're going to be fine, Jareth. I'm sorry I was a little rude earlier."

"You weren't rude, Sarah. I was too harsh on you. I know you don't want to remove your markings. If I could heal them, I would."

"Could you put a glamour on them?" She suggested, and Jareth shook his head.

"I can't glamour other people for long periods of time, it's too draining on my magic."

"You're the great and powerful Goblin King, I thought you'd be able to do anything." She said, teasing him.

"Oh, I can." He rolled over so he had her pinned under him. "I believe I can do things you would rather enjoy." He began kissing her neck, and she laughed and pushed him off.

"You are insatiable."

"You are irresistible."

"Have you slept at all tonight or have you just been lying here with your hand on my boob?" She asked him curiously, and he laughed.

"Really Sarah, you make it sound so inelegant."

"So you haven't slept?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I've been thinking, just about things." He did not want her to be burdened with his thoughts of what his sister had planned. "I want you to tell me your worries. I don't want you to resent me, I want you to talk to me."

"Right now?" Sarah yawned.

"Lie on my chest and just talk until you fall asleep." Sarah moved so her head was resting just below his collar bone. They both stared up at the ceiling.

"Can we bring this bed when we move Underground?" Sarah asked, and she smiled as she heard a chuckle through his chest.

"I have a bed already. It hasn't been slept in for almost a year and I think it could do with being broken in." She laughed. "If you wanted to, I suppose we could take this one instead."

"My dad called today." Sarah told him, and Jareth tried his best to sound surprised.

"Did he? How was it?"

"Fine. He wants to bring Toby to London to see me."

"Marvelous! When are they coming?"

"They aren't."

"Why?"

"He wanted to come in a few weeks, I have no idea what I'll be like in a few weeks. I could have indelible glitter above my eyes with no way to cover it, I could have mismatched eyes.."

"Sarah, my eyes have nothing to do with being Fae. I believe I've already explained that I got into a fight and one eye was damaged?" He asked, trying not to laugh. "Your actual eyes won't change, love. That's just me."

"Oh. Yeah, I remember. Anyway, I had to say no. I lied and said we were having renovations done, then when that didn't work I said I had too much work."

"Sarah, I could have arranged something about your eyes. Are you aware that makeup exists?" He asked her sarcastically. "Once they have healed, you should be able to cover them with normal makeup. It's just whilst they heal that you can't put anything on them. I think you're going to need to take those bandaids off, by the way. They have chemicals in that might upset the healing process."

Sarah dutifully peeled them off and threw them onto her bedside table.

"Do you want to change your mind about seeing your father and Toby?"

"No, not yet. I thought we could just go to America and see them when everything's settled down. I said you'd be going there on business."

"I'll take you whenever you want love, you know that."

"Thanks baby." Jareth didn't care for this particular endearment, it was too American and entirely un-Kingly. He knew Sarah liked it, so said nothing.

"What else worries you?"

"I'm worried about being Fae." She admitted. "What if I'm no good at it? If everyone hates me?"

"They won't hate you. The creatures in the Labyrinth already love you, and then as time progresses I will take you around the rest of my Kingdom and everyone else will love you too."

"What about your family? Your mother and father, Juturna.." Jareth stiffened at the sound of his sister's name. "What's wrong?" Sarah looked up at him, looking confused.

"Nothing, nothing. I just wish to keep you away from Juturna. They will be present at the wedding, of course."

"So, we will get married?" She asked, half joking. They had discussed it before, of course, but not for a while. They were too happy as they were, Sarah thought, there was no need to complicate things before everything was in place.

"Of course." Jareth said, not wishing to talk too much of marriage. "In time."

"Good." Sarah closed her eyes. "I'd like that."

"Me too, my darling girl." Jareth watched as she fell asleep in his arms. In the darkness of their bedroom, he felt truly contented.

He was determined that nobody should ruin their happiness.

* * *

"Jareth!" Sarah shouted from the hallway, "Jareth, have you seen my keys?" It was 8:56 on the following Friday morning and Sarah was due at her desk in four minutes.

"Here." He appeared in front of her, making her flinch. He dangled her keys infront of her face. There weren't many keys on the keychain; they didn't own a car, so it was just front door, back door and a spare key for her mother's flat.

"Stop doing that!" She grabbed the keys and shoved them in her purse. "Thanks."

"Why are you taking keys?" He asked. "We never use keys."

"I told you last night, I'm going out for dinner with mom. Her show's just closed and if she doesn't fill her evenings she goes all weird and self pitying so it's easier to just do what she wants. You said you were busy this evening so I'll be coming home the normal way. Normal way means using keys to open the front door."

"Of course, sorry. I should be home around nine, but there's something I need to attend to."

"Sure. Right, I think I have everything. Can we go?" Sarah held out her hand for him and closed her eyes. He kissed her quickly, and she smiled. "Come on, I'm going to be late."

He took her hand and within a second, they were in the alleyway near Sarah's office that they always used. She kissed him on the cheek and waved goodbye, hurrying to her office. Nobody ever asked Sarah how she got to work, or how she always managed to be perfectly on time - never early, never late.

Jareth watched her walk away, and smiled. It had been three weeks since he first detected Juturna's magic, and there had been no trace of it since. Sarah had returned to work, covering up her developing markings using gauze and tape. The lie about the clumsy beautician had actually worked rather well.

With a last look at Sarah, now crossing the street, he took himself away to the Underground. He was in his office, and there was already a pile of papers stacked on his desk for his review. He sighed, sitting down in his chair and beginning to sift through them.

Several hours later, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in!"

A little goblin, a footman, stood on the other side of the door.

"'Scuse me your 'ighness. There is a man to see you."

"What man?" Jareth asked, flipping through his diary. "I have no appointments today."

"'E is a jeweller, he says."

"Right, right. Is he in the throne room?"

"Yes, Sire, 'e is."

"I'll go there now. Thank you." The door closed, and Jareth moved to the throne room. Stood in the center was a Fae man that he had known since childhood, one of his most trusted friends. He was dark skinned and elaborately dressed in rich silks. He made Jareth look positively drab by comparison.

"Adi!" Jareth said, and the man turned around.

"Your Highness! It is a pleasure to see you again." It had been some years since the two had last seen each other, but some friendships could withstand distance with no consequence. Jareth pulled him in to a hug and the two men clapped each other on the back.

"Now, now Adi. There is no need to stand on ceremony."

"Jareth. I was honoured to recieve your commission, as well as your remarkable drawings."

"I could think of no better man to help me. Did you do what I asked?"

"Yes." With a wave of his hand, Adi presented Jareth with two boxes. "I must say, I've never made a human wedding ring before."

"Not a wedding ring, Adi. An engagement ring."

"Honestly, these humans have customs I don't understand."

"Considering how much I'm paying you, you should be grateful." Jareth told his old friend with a wry smile. "I suppose I better have a look then."

He opened the smaller box first. In it lay a band of gold, twisted like the intertwining branches of a vine. He wanted something special, something to symbolize their relationship. The leaves on the vines were the leaves that the Labyrinth hedges. At the center of the circle, there was a bright diamond. Jareth knew that diamond engagement rings were the style Above, so wanted to give Sarah at least one part of a normal engagement.

"It is perfect. Truly a work of art." Putting the small box in his waistcoat pocket, Jareth turned his attention to the larger of the two boxes. This was what he was most nervous to see, the thing that truly meant the most to him. Opening the box, he took a sharp intake of breath.

He had asked Adi to make Sarah an amulet, much like his own. This was far more beautiful than anything he could have imagined. The shape of the pendant was the same, but smaller and more delicate. It shone as though hit by sunlight, the gold Adi had used was so pure. This was a true symbol of Jareth's love; it carried his crest, and once they were married would anchor their powers together, truly binding them for life.

"Exquisite." Jareth breathed, astonished to find tears in his eyes. Adi looked at him with a knowing smile. Jareth glared at him. "If you tell anyone I cried I will Bog you so hard."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry, my lips are sealed about this whole thing."

"Thank you Adi. Truly, you have crafted the finest gifts for my beloved, and I shall be eternally grateful."

"I never thought I'd see the day. Jareth getting married."

"She hasn't said yes yet." Jareth replied with a grin.

* * *

"Mom, you're half an hour late. Where are you?" Sarah was calling her mother's machine from the restaurant's phone. It was so irritating waiting for someone who was always late. "I'm waiting for twenty minutes then I'm going home."

Sarah sat down at the table her mother had reserved. It was set for three, and Sarah figured that Jeremy would be joining them. They had just gotten back together after a three month break up (their longest yet) and her mother was disgustingly smitten. Being the third wheel wasn't Sarah's favourite activity, and she was just debating going home and forgetting the whole thing when Linda walked in. She had someone with her, but it wasn't Jeremy.

It was Judith.

Sarah stood up to kiss her mother on the cheek.

"You're late." She told her irritably, but Linda just waved her away.

"Sorry, sorry. Tube problems. You remember Judith."

"Yes, of course. Hello Judith." Sarah shook her hand, and they all sat down.

"Your poor eyes still haven't healed." Linda pointed out, moving to touch them. Sarah moved her head away; they were sensitive to touch, and she didn't want her mother accidentally dislodging the bandages.

"The doctor says the burns will take a little longer to heal."

"How unfortunate." Judith said, her voice hard. "What a strange accident to have."

"I guess. It's not too bad, it should be gone soon."

"Judith used to be a nurse, maybe she could take a look."

"No!" Sarah had noticed that morning that the markings were starting to shine, though still red and weeping. "No, that really won't be needed Mom. It's nice to see you again, Judith. I wasn't expecting you to join us."

"Jeremy cancelled, and I out shopping with Judith so I thought it would be a great opportunity for you to get to know each other!"

"Wonderful." Sarah said, confused as to why her mother was so determined to get her to know Judith. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Not long at all." Judith said. "I met your mother one night after her show."

"We just hit it off straight away! And I've been saying to her, you must meet my Sarah! So here we are."

"Your mother tells me you're in publishing. Have you being in the industry long?"

"No, not at all. Nine months? I've always liked writing, and when I moved here after leaving college I thought I should try and get my foot in the door."

"A wise idea. It is all about connections."

"I suppose."

"How's Jareth?" Linda asked. "I feel like I haven't seen him in forever!"

"You haven't." Sarah replied through gritted teeth. "You've been too busy with Jeremy."

"Well, I'd like to see him. What a pity he was busy tonight. Jareth is Sarah's boyfriend." Linda explained to Judith.

"I wondered how you managed in such a large house on your own." Judith told Sarah, her voice sounding strained. Her expression permanently looked as though she had just smelt something awful.

"Well, it's Jareth's." Sarah replied, a little annoyed at the implication that she relied on her boyfriend. "We live together."

"How nice. And what does he do?"

"He's an art dealer."

"How lovely." Judith looked at Sarah's left hand. "No ring yet?"

"Um, no. I'm only 21." Sarah took her hand off the table, and rubbed her ring finger self consciously.

"Jareth's a little older than Sarah." Linda said in a faux whisper, and Sarah glared at her.

"Yes, he is, but that really doesn't matter." Sarah said sternly. "Age is just a number."

"And what did he make of your accident at the beauty parlour?"

"He doesn't really have an opinion of it. He was upset that I was hurt, naturally. Why should he mind if I was wearing bandages?" This woman was really starting to piss Sarah off, and she signaled for the waiter.

"Hi, could I please have your largest glass of white wine?"

"Certainly madam. Ladies?" The waiter took Linda and Judith's drink orders and left.

"I can't stay long, Mom. Jareth and I have plans later this evening."

"I thought you said he was busy?" Linda asked, tearing up a piece of bread from the basket in the middle of the table.

"He is busy right now. He is not busy later. We have plans." Sarah said pointedly, and Linda laughed.

"Oh, those kind of plans!" Linda gave her a wink, and Sarah wanted to die. "To be 21 again, hey Judith!"

"I'm surprised he can keep up." Sarah honestly felt like slapping this woman; she was basically a stranger yet felt it was her place to make crude comments about Sarah's love life.

"If anything, I have to keep up with him." Sarah said, wishing she didn't feel the need to lower herself to this woman's level. "If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to the bathroom." She walked off, and instead of heading into the door marked "Ladies", she went out the fire exit and into the alley way.

"Jareth? If you can hear me, come and get me right now!" Within a second, Jareth was by her side.

"You called, love?" He asked, smiling. "I was in the middle of something."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you but you have to get me out of this nightmare. My mother's brought her awful friend with her to dinner and she is just vile. Can you go round the front in five minutes and come get me?"

"Come and get you? Sarah, I'm not your keeper. If it's that bad, surely you can just leave?"

"But that will seem rude.."

"Sarah, you've been living in England for too long. Just make some excuse."

"Please Jareth. It'll take ten minutes and then you can go finish whatever you were doing."

"Just this once. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, I need to finish what I was doing."

"Fine. Don't forget to put your glamour on, I'm not explaining to my mother why you look like a glam rock highwayman with a mullet."

"Oh my love, you are truly too kind to me." He pressed a kiss to her lips, and took himself away. Sarah returned to the dinner table and was pleased to find her wine had arrived.

"I ordered you a salad." Linda told her daughter. "I thought you should watch what you eat."

"Gee, thanks mom." Sarah took a deep drink from her wine glass.

Fifteen minutes was going to feel like a long time.


	7. Ancient History

Jareth was late.

Sarah kept looking at her watch, waiting for him to appear. He was an hour late at this point, and she was thinking that maybe she should just make an excuse and leave. In the meantime, she had sunk three large glasses of wine and was feeling decidedly tipsy. Linda had also had several drinks, and was gesticulating wildly with a glass of vodka in her hand.

"And I told Jeremy that if he thinks he can practice sex scenes with that bimbo in our bed, he has another thing coming.."

Sarah poured another glass of wine and started to drink it. She saw Judith was staring at her. Sarah looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as if to say "yes? Can I help you?"

"Do you think it's appropriate to drink so much? It's not becoming of a young lady."

"If she was your mother, you'd drink too. I think I better be going." She drained the rest of her glass, trying to ignore Judith's distasteful glance.

"Honestly, what would your boyfriend say if he could see you?"

"I'd ask her to pour me a glass." Jareth answered smoothly. Sarah looked up, and was relieved to see Jareth standing behind Judith. "Good evening ladies. Sorry for interrupting you but I thought I'd come and steal Sarah away."

"Jareth! Come here and give me a hug!" Linda stood up, and Sarah winced as her chair fell backwards. Jareth rushed forward to stop her falling, and Sarah tried to contain her laughter.

"Hello Linda darling." She clung onto him and kissed his cheek. "Tactile as ever, I see."

"Gorgeous as ever." Sarah hated the way Jareth and her mother flirted; they had had more than one argument about it. "Oh, Jareth, this is-" Linda gestured to a now empty chair. "Where'd she go?"

Sarah looked over and saw Judith's chair was empty.

"That's weird, I didn't see her leave."

"Won't you stay for a drink Jareth?"

"I'm sorry Linda, I have plans for your daughter. If she can stand up, that is." Sarah giggled and got to her feet. "Let me pay for your bill though. I'm sure this one drank a fair portion of it."

"I did not!" Sarah said in outrage.

Jareth called the waiter over and handed him some folded notes.

"Right, my love. Shall we go? Linda, shall I put you in a cab?"

"Isn't he sweet? Yes please."

"Let's go then."

Jareth shepherded the two drunk women out of the restaurant and onto the street. He looked around him, sure he could feel something. He was too relaxed, he had let his guard down and he could definitely sense a trace of magic. It was too late to see who it belonged to, they had used some kind of cloaking spell and had obviously left using the front door. He hailed Linda a taxi and bundled her inside it, waving her off as quickly as he could. He wanted to get Sarah home, especially as she was now staggering around outside struggling to stay upright.

"Bloody hell love, how much did you have?"

"A bottle." She said, clinging onto him. "A bottle and a bit. You were meant to come and get me in fifteen minutes. That was an hour ago! You know how my mother makes me, it felt like alcohol was the only thing getting me through. There was a twenty minute in depth discussion about Jeremy's penis, Jareth. With hand gestures. If you could sit through to that without turning to drink, you're a better person than me."

"A valid point. You could have left of your own accord though, as I said I'm not your keeper."

"I know. God, that Judith woman was such a bitch. You should have spoken to her properly. She said some really awful things about me and you."

"How long has your mother been friends with this woman?" Jareth asked curiously; he had never heard of Judith before.

"Not long. Maybe a week? She was with her last week when Mom gave me that soup. I need to tell her never to cook me anything again, it made me feel really sick."

"I'll be sure to tell her. Come on, we need to go somewhere private so I can take us home." Sarah let him lead her to an alleyway.

"Y'know, if people see us sneaking in and out of alleys all the time, they're gonna think there's something else going on."

"Oh really?" Jareth smiled, finding her amusing in her intoxicated state. "Such as..?"

"I'm sure you can use your imagination."

"As I recall, we have used alleyways for other purposes before. Tonight, my love, it is simply to get us back to the privacy of our own home so you can drink some water, eat some bread and get some sleep. I have plans for us this weekend and I don't want you to feel wretched."

"Plans? I didn't know we had plans this weekend."

"They are surprise plans."

"I hate surprises."

"I know. But you'll like this one."

"I love you so much." She told him sincerely, and he laughed.

"I love you too, even if you are absolutely smashed. Take my hand. Eyes closed, darling." Sarah screwed her eyes shut and felt the world whizz past. "If you vomit Sarah I swear to God you can get the Tube for the rest of your life."

They made it back to the house, and Sarah managed to steady herself.

"I'm sorry I got drunk." She said mournfully.

"I think it's rather funny. I can give you something in the morning to help with the hangover. What do you want to do? It's still early." It wasn't even 9PM yet.

"Can I ask you questions?" She smiled devilishly. "Remember on our first date? I asked you questions then."

"I remember. I got the sense you were rather restrained with your questions."

"A little. I hardly knew you, what was I supposed to ask you? How big your" she gestured with her hands "is? I mean, I could clearly see that already." Jareth wheezed with laughter; she really was hilarious drunk.

"Fine. But we take it in turns to ask each other questions, I'm not being the only one interrogated."

"Fine." Sarah walked up the stairs, turning into the living room. Jareth was already there. "When do I get my teleporting powers?" Sarah asked, sitting down on the couch. "I'm sick of stairs."

"Firstly, I don't 'teleport', and secondly you'll have to learn how to do it. Small distances at first, then eventually you should be able to take yourself Above and Underground as I do."

"When I'm Underground, do I have to dress like you?" Sarah asked, looking from her pencil skirt to his tight breeches. "I don't think I have the legs for that." She joked.

"Ha ha. The usual style for Fae women is much like the gowns of the Tudor age. I would expect you to dress properly when around others, for your own sense of belonging. But when we are alone, you can wear whatever you want."

"Am I going to meet your parents? I kind of want to get to know them."

"I'm sure they would want to know you too. I don't see them very often, but I suppose if you wanted to meet them I could arrange something."

"Not Juturna though. She sounds like a bitch."

"Yes dear." Jareth laughed. "You're spot on there, love."

"You haven't met my dad. You should probably meet my dad.."

Jareth was careful not to let his face move; he had of course already met Robert Williams, but he was keeping that to himself. At least until tomorrow.

"Of course. When you want, we can go see him. And Toby, of course."

"I miss Toby." Sarah said sadly, and Jareth moved to sit beside her and gave her a hug. "You won't steal him again will you?"

"No, Sarah. I didn't steal him last time, but let's not get into semantics."

"Good 'cos I don't even know what those are."

"What's your favourite colour?" Jareth asked teasingly, and Sarah grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head with it. Well, she tried. She missed and fell off the couch, landing in a heap. "Oh Sarah, I can't take you anywhere."

"Shut up and help me up." Jareth pulled her up and sat her on his lap. She stretched her legs out, leaning into him. "That's better. Thanks."

"I believe it's my turn to ask questions."

"Okay."

"Why does Linda bother you so much?"

"Is it not obvious? We've talked about this before."

"Tell me again."

"Jareth, talking about my issues with my mother is really, really depressing. Can't we just go to bed instead?"

"Humour me Sarah."

"Fine, but I get to ask you a question equally depressing. Yes?"

"Deal."

"Linda bothers me so much because she made a perfectly good life for herself and left me behind. I would sit, filling in that stupid scrapbook and listening to Irene yell at me, wishing she would come and get me. She never did; she was too preoccupied with Jeremy and her career and really anything else that took her fancy. I never really seemed to enter her mind. Even when I lived here for college, she was away the whole year. So now, when she tries to make out like I'm her best buddy and so important to her, it just makes me.."

"Want to drink a whole bottle of wine in an hour?" Jareth asked when she couldn't find the words.

"Exactly. So, my turn."

"Yes, your turn."

"What happened between you and Juturna?" Sarah asked, and Jareth grimaced.

"Sarah, I really don't want to discuss Juturna." He told her, shifting her on his lap so he could look at her face.

"Please, Jareth. There's something you're not telling me about her. All you said is that you hadn't seen her for hundreds of years and that you're 'different people'. Something happened."

"Fine. If I tell you the story, you have to promise me two things. One, that you won't get jealous."

"Jealous?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, jealous. And two, once I've told you it you can ask me one question and then we agree never to speak of anything in the story again."

Sarah thought maybe she should just let him not tell the story, but she was so curious that she merely nodded in agreement.

"Around six hundred years ago, before I was King, I was in love. Her name was Beatrice, and she was mortal, the daughter of a Lord. At this time, I was living in the Plantagenet court. They were dangerous days, there was near constant war and I was closely allied to the Yorks. My father heard that I was involved in Above conflicts, and demanded I return to the Underground. I refused, saying that I wished to stay Above and marry, make a life until I would one day inherit his throne. He was angry, but he had no real power over me to make me return; I was too strong, my magic wild and unruly. Juturna, who was unmarried at the time, wished me to be struck from the line of succession, and the laws to be changed so she could become Queen in her own right. I refused to give way to her, believing that I could have everything I wanted without consequence."

Sarah watched him carefully, not saying a word. Jareth took a deep breath and continued.

"One night, I was dining with Beatrice. I had already asked her father for permission to marry her, though I hadn't told my father yet. I was planning to propose that night, when suddenly, blood began to trickle out of her nose, then her ears, then pour from her mouth. I ran to her, tried every healing spell I knew to try and make her well, but there was a spell so powerful running through her veins that my magic was useless against it. Juturna had tampered with my usual seat, lacing the wood with a poison that would destroy my powers and render me truly mortal. I had given Beatrice my chair that night, because it was closer to the fire and she was cold. It soaked through her clothes, as it was meant to do to me, slowly delivering the potion into the skin, and then the blood stream. But Beatrice had no magic, and the poison merely served to shut down every organ, every blood vessel. She was dead, I was accused of murdering her and I had to disappear Underground. I stayed there for around fifty years, eventually returning to court in the Tudor age to start life all over again.

"I was furious with Juturna. I would have killed her if I'd have gotten away with it. She faced no punishment for what she did to Beatrice, but if I had harmed her I would have been executed. It's not a crime to kill a human. That is why I have kept you so close, so heavily guarded. I don't truly think she would be so stupid as to try it again; I am King now, and you are my marked mate. It would be considered an act of war and I would crush her in battle, she knows that.

"As it was, I told my father what had happened and Juturna was married off to the most odious man we could find, and exiled from the Goblin Kingdom. A small punishment, and it was given to her because she attempted to strip me of my powers, rather than killing Beatrice. Father informed her that if she killed another human in an attempt to harm me, he would have her executed. It seems to be the only threat that works on her. Over the years, her magic has dwindled and become weak from living in the Elvish lands. I believed she was no threat to me, but now she has a son, I'm worried her lust for power will start all over again." He stopped, pausing for breath. He looked at Sarah with a sad smile playing on his lips.

"There. That is the reason I don't like Juturna."

"Pretty good reason." Sarah said quietly, trying to take in everything he had just said. "May I ask my question?"

"Yes."

"Why did you even go to her son's naming ceremony? If she killed your girlfriend and tried to strip you of your powers, wouldn't everyone understand if you were mad at her?"

"The Fae are treacherous people, Sarah. Spying and murder are all par for the course in getting what you want, particularly in royalty. If I was human, I would probably be consumed by rage and exact impulsive revenge. Alas, I was fickle, as are many Fae, and I managed to shrug the whole thing off rather quickly. I should have expected it, but I was young and foolish. It was six hundred years ago, and I have gotten over it somewhat. As times have changed, there are stricter laws in place. I negotiated several of them with my father, and as he is High King, the Low Kings must agree. If these laws were not in place, I would not even consider having a serious relationship with a mortal again."

"But you're with me."

"I am with you because our souls are bound together by fate." He told her sincerely, grabbing her hands. "You will not be mortal for much longer, my love. Now I have told you why I dislike Juturna, may we change the subject?"

"I don't have a question that would be appropriate after that." She said quietly. "I feel so bad. For you, for poor Beatrice."

"Beatrice would be long dead by now. I loved her, certainly, but I knew that I could not mark her or begin the transformation progress. She was not my true mate, but I was too headstrong to see the danger I put her in. I never thought I'd find the woman I was meant to be with, so I merely continued to live the bachelor life. Until you called me that day."

"I'm safe right?" Sarah asked "Juturna won't try and harm me?"

Jareth debated telling her that he had sensed Juturna's magic within her already, but he decided not to.

"I would never let Juturna harm you. You are protected. I would die protecting you."

"Don't die." She said, and Jareth remembered just how drunk she was because she was grinning like a lunatic. "I don't want you to die."

"Then I will try my best to stay alive for many years to come."

"My eyes are itching." Sarah removed the bandages, throwing them aside.

"Don't scratch love. They'll just bleed. Here, let me look. Lie with your head in my lap." She did as she was told, scooting down the couch. He cradled her head, and examined the markings carefully. "They look better. I can see your colours coming through." He ran a thumb along the edge of the marking above her right eye.

"What colours?"

"Like mine. I can see silver already." It made Jareth happy that Sarah would share his markings; a clear sign to anyone that she was his.

"Are your markings unique? What other colours are there?"

"Sadly, as a twin, my markings are not unique. There will be three of us with these. My parents have similar ones, mine are somewhat a mix of both."

"I wish I could see a picture of your family. It's weird not having any idea what they look like."

"If you're really curious, I have a portrait Underground I could bring to show you. It's rather old, but we haven't changed much."

"That'd be cool." Sarah yawned. "My head hurts."

"I'm not surprised." Jareth smirked, bending down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Have you asked all your questions my love?"

"I think so. I love you." She was falling asleep, like she always did when she'd had too much wine. He wrapped his arms around her and took them to their bedroom. She got under the covers, still fully dressed - shoes and all - and fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: I know some people will be disappointed that there was no Juturna/Jareth showdown..give it time guys! I've decided not to stick to getting this finished in 10 chapters as I think it would be far too short, I'm just going to write until I've got the story out. All will be solved in good time! Also I know it seems like there are a couple of plot holes, trust me these are all for reasons that will become clear!**

 **I found this chapter really hard, because I want to move the story along at a realistic pace and at the same time I don't want it to get boring for you guys. I was really worried I wouldn't get this done, because this about the third completely new draft I've done. I'm really scared you guys will hate it.  
**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, please leave a review!**


	8. Saturday In The Park With Jareth

Sarah woke up in the middle of the night, her mouth dry and her head pounding. She sat up in bed and looked at her clock; 4AM. Jareth had placed a glass of water next to the clock for her, and she gulped it down gratefully. Groaning, she lay back down to try and get more sleep. Jareth was asleep next to hear, the sheets kicked off him so she could just see his naked torso. He was always hot, especially in sleep - something about Fae blood, she couldn't remember right now. She smiled despite feeling like crap; he rarely slept in front of her, and seeing him so relaxed was always nice. It reminded her that he was real, and whilst he wasn't a human, he wasn't so far away from her at all.

In the dim moonlight coming through a crack in the curtain, she could see his markings glitter. It was hard to believe that soon she would have the same, and she was truly on her way to being like him.

She curled into his side, and wasn't surprised when he rolled over and pulled her tightly to him. He was a light sleeper, disturbed by the slightest movement.

"You okay?" He asked sleepily, placing a kiss on her hair.

"Fine." She whispered. "I'm sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep."

"Love you." It was always funny to hear him speak when he was half asleep; any trace of the eloquence and sarcasm in his normal speech was gone, and he sounded almost like an ordinary human.

"I love you too." She told him, burying her face in his chest. "Goodnight baby."

"Don't call me baby," he grumbled, still half asleep. "I am a King." Almost an ordinary human.

She laughed, a little louder than she should in the middle of the night.

"Okay, your Highness. Now go back to sleep."

Sarah shut her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body against her face. She fell asleep, entirely content.

That was not the case when she woke up.

"Oh God I want to die."

"Good morning sunshine." Jareth stood at the door, fully dressed, though barefoot and without his gloves. He carried a tray with a cup of tea and a glass of water balanced on it, as well as some dry toast. He placed it on the bed next to her.

"Eurgh, just - just don't talk." Sarah grabbed the tea and drank it, not caring that it was still scalding hot. She would have preferred coffee, but Jareth always made tea in the morning and it had become a tradition they shared. "When will I learn that wine makes me so drunk and so hungover?"

"No time soon, I'd wager. Remember Christmas? You drank two bottles to yourself and were so hammered you called me Jared three times."

Their first Christmas together had been spent alone, and they had accidentally consumed an enormous amount of alcohol. Jareth had brought several bottles Fae wine Above for the occasion, which he refused to let her touch, and was in no position to criticize her for getting drunk.

"Shut up." She groaned, clutching her head dramatically. "You were no better, you spent thirty minutes lying on the bathroom floor singing Silent Night."

"Well, I'm not hungover now and therefore you must allow me the moral high ground for this morning."

"Do we have plans today?" Sarah asked through a mouthful of toast. "I remember you said we had plans."

"We do. So you need to eat, shower, dress. Come here." She leaned forwards and he held his hand to her head. Suddenly, the overwhelming nausea passed, and her head stopped pounding. "Better?"

"Much. It's great having a boyfriend with magic healing hands."

"That's the best thing about my hands?" He asked her suggestively, and she threw a crust at his head. "I'm going Underground for an hour, I'll be back around twelve. Alright?"

Sarah glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 11AM.

"You should have woken me, I didn't mean to sleep this late."

"And face your wrath? You're not exactly pleasant when woken up Sarah."

"I'll have a shower then." She finished her last bite of toast and got up. Jareth waved his hand and the tray was gone. "Jareth, before you go. Thank you for telling me about Beatrice. That can't have been easy for you."

"You remember that?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. He was frowning, and Sarah regretted bringing up the subject.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you'll remember you promised not to talk about it anymore. It was a long time ago, Sarah." His voice had an edge to it, and she just nodded, not wanting to push the subject anymore. "I'll see you later."

Then he was gone.

* * *

Sarah had no idea where they were going or what he had planned, so after her shower she changed into a summer dress and a denim jacket. It was warm outside but the clouds overhead threatened rain. She applied makeup and fresh bandages over her eyes. They really were healing quickly; she was sure she could see some purple in there now.

She waited for Jareth to come home. She waited. And waited. And waited.

Three hours later, and she had fallen asleep. She had no idea why she was so tired again, but when Jareth eventually returned, he found her snoring on the couch.

"Sarah," he shook her gently, and she swatted his hand away. "Sarah precious, wake up."

"Where've you been?" She asked him crossly, yawning. "You're late. Again."

"I'm sorry, my father needed to meet with me in relation to our new treaty with the Pixies. I didn't realise it would take so long. We'll still have our day together. I brought you something, come and see."

Sarah got up reluctantly, and followed him into the hall way. She gasped; an enormous, elaborately framed portrait leaned against the staircase.

"How did you get that here? It's huge!"

"I am magic, Sarah." He replied sarcastically. "You told me last night you wanted to see my family. There they are."

Sarah looked at the picture, an intricate oil painting that was almost life sized. A man who looked like a bigger version of Jareth stood in the background, his arm on the shoulder of a slender woman with a kind looking face. All four people in the painting wore cloaks lined with fur, and the two adults had crowns resting upon their heads.

"Your father looks just like you."

"He's eaten rather more than I have." Jareth said defensively, and Sarah eyed his rail thin frame.

"That's true. Your mom looks nice. She has your eyes, well, one of them anyway." Sarah turned her attention to the two figures at the front of the painting; both sitting down, both with long, blonde hair. Jareth's hair was quite different to how he wore it now; there were no spiky layers, just shining gold tied back in a pony tail. "You look younger in this. Like a teenager."

"I suppose. We were only two hundred years old, in human terms we looked about sixteen. We still lived with mother and father then, but we didn't get on particularly well. It might explain why we both look so sullen."

"So that's Juturna?" The girl in the photo looked so much like Jareth they could have been identical twins; the same slender face, the same distasteful expression on their faces. Juturna's hair was curled, hanging down by her sides. "She looks just like you."

"We don't look so much like each other now. I would like to think so, anyway. You probably wouldn't even be able to tell she was my sister. I was a rather feminine looking youngster." Sarah raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at his long hair. "Perhaps I haven't changed that much." He admitted. "There, that's my family. You've seen them. That's the only portrait of us all together, though there is a later one of me and Juturna that my father had commissioned for my mother's birthday. I could show you that another time, if you wanted to see her as she looks now."

"Yeah, I'd like to see that. It's strange not having an image in my mind of what she looks like."

"Maybe I shouldn't show you, it'll give you nightmares."

"Thanks for bringing that. I feel like I know you a bit better now."

"It took a dusty old oil painting for you to know me better?"

"It's weird not knowing anything about the person you love's family."

"You're my family now, love." He told her gently, kissing her. "Everything I need."

"And you're mine. Right, are we going anywhere today or can I go back to bed?"

"Back to bed? Are you feeling alright?" He asked, frowning. "You shouldn't be feeling hungover."

"A little tired but nothing major. So what are we doing?"

"I have a surprise for you. Take my arm. This journey will be a little longer than the one's you're used to, but you mustn't let go or open your eyes."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise Sarah, are you familiar with the concept?" He asked sarcastically, and Sarah rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm. "Now just close your eyes."

Sarah did as she was told, and the familiar feeling of flying through the air with nothing beneath her feet swept over her. The journey lasted maybe ten or twenty seconds - considerably longer than their normal trips within London. She wondered if he was taking her Underground, though she knew it was unlikely before she was Fae.

"We're here. Open your eyes."

Sarah opened one eye warily, and when she saw where they were she opened both and looked at Jareth, who was once again wearing his human disguise, confused.

"We're at the park near my dad's house?"

"We are. The park where I first saw you." He said fondly, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him.

"Maybe don't tell people that story." She said, her face squashed against his shirt. "'Man spies on fourteen year old' sounds like the beginning of a police report. Never mind the whole 'whilst disguised as an owl' part."

"Really Sarah, must you be so unrelentingly nice to me all the time? It's wearing a little thin." Jareth said dryly. Sarah felt bad for making fun of him,

"Sorry. Why are we here?" Sarah asked, frowning.

"To see them." Jareth said, pointing behind her. She turned, and her heart skipped a beat. Across the park, her dad was walking towards her, holding the hand of a little blonde boy she hadn't seen for nearly a year.

Jareth watched as she ran towards her little brother, smiling as she scooped him up in her arms and swung him round happily. He had called Robert earlier that week, informing him that he would once again be in the area on business and that Sarah was joining him. He had explained that it was a surprise, and that Sarah had no idea.

"Sarah! Sarah I'm so happy to see you!" Toby said when she put him down. He was nearly eight, and was almost a head taller than when she had last seen him. She felt tears prick her eyes. "Look, I lost another tooth last week!" He opened his mouth wide, and Sarah laughed as he showed her all the gaps.

"You did? Did the tooth fairy come take it away and leave you a dollar?"

"Uh huh, I tried to catch her but it didn't work. Who's that?" Toby pointed at Jareth, who was still standing in the distance, not wanting to interfere in the happy reunion.

"That's my boyfriend. His name's Jareth, d'you want to come say hello?"

"Is he the man you live with in London? Mommy says he's robbing the cradle, what does that mean? Is he a bad guy who steals babies?" Sarah tried not to laugh, and at the same time felt irritated that Irene felt the need to comment on the age difference in her relationship, especially within earshot of Toby.

"I don't know Tobes." She tried her best to sound like she was genuinely confused. "Dad, why don't you tell me what Irene meant?" She looked at her father, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Toby shrugged and ran off to play on the swing set near by. "Irene not with you today?"

"She had to go and see her mother." Robert said. Sarah raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged. Sarah and Irene had never seen eye to eye, and she wasn't surprised her stepmother had made an excuse not to come see her. "It's good to see you, kid." Sarah hugged him, blinking back tears. She was so happy to see Toby, and settling things with her dad was a huge weight off her mind.

"And you. I had no idea this was happening. He's gotten big." Sarah watched Toby play in the distance. "You haven't met Jareth." Sarah waved at Jareth to come over. "Be nice to him."

"Of course." Her father replied. He had of course already met Jareth, but was willing to keep up the pretense as Jareth had asked him on the telephone the day before.

"Hello, Mr Williams." Jareth held his hand out and Robert shook it. Sarah watched the two of them carefully, trying to see if there was any alpha male staring down going on.

"Nice to meet you Jareth. Please, call me Robert." Sarah left the two men together and ran over to the little boy she had missed so much. Jareth watched to make sure she was out of earshot, and turned to her father.

"Thank you for humouring me, Robert. I appreciate it. I'll tell her that I already met you once I propose, I'm not one for keeping secrets. I just feel it would rather spoil the surprise."

"You've certainly surprised her today. Toby was almost bouncing off the wall when I told him why we were coming to the park. I've thought about what you said to me last week. Seeing Sarah now, I don't think I've ever seen her look so happy. If that's your doing, you have my blessing."

"Thank you. I know that will mean a lot to her." Jareth said, meaning every word. "Thank you for bringing Toby to see her."

"When are you asking her?"

"Tomorrow, when we're back in London. We have to leave in a few hours, it's a flying visit."

Jareth was lying through his teeth of course; they could leave whenever they wanted. He wanted to propose to her tonight, and he had finally obtained permission from his father that morning, which was why he had been so late. He couldn't wait any more, and he wanted to do it in England, in the place where it had all begun. He had brought Sarah here today, rather than just waiting until after they were engaged, because he wanted her to know how important it was to him that she reconnected with her father. Things had been difficult for her lately with all the changes, and if he could bring her happiness by helping her see Toby, then that was his priority.

"You're leaving so soon? Toby will be disappointed."

"Sarah tells me that you wanted to visit her in London. You should."

"She said she didn't want us to."

"I think she'll have changed her mind after today. I think she was scared."

* * *

"I missed you so much Sarah! You always push me the highest."

"I missed you too buddy. I'll see you again real soon though, okay? And you can call me whenever you want, I'll always pick up."

"Are you gonna get married to that man?" Toby asked, jumping off the swing and running over to the slide. "He looks like the Goblin King."

"What?" Sarah asked, feeling her blood run cold. She followed him to the slide,and watched as he climbed up it. "Goblin King? Is that a character from a TV show or something Tobes?"

"I always see him in my dream. You're there too. And all these little goblins, they're funny. In my dream, I'm a baby, and the Goblin King takes care of me." He slid down, jumping off at the end. He walked over to Sarah after he was done.

"He does, huh? I think you need to stop eating cheese before bed, little guy." Sarah would have to ask Jareth how Toby remembered anything about the Labyrinth when he had been so young, but as long as he thought it was all a weird dream, it was fine.

"So are you gonna?" Toby questioned her impatiently.

"Gonna what?" She asked him, hands on her hips. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Get married, stupid!" He said, as though stating the obvious.

"I don't know. He'd have to ask me, I guess. Why, d'you wanna be my flower girl?" Sarah chased him, and picked him up and tickled him. His laughter was music to her ears, and she finally felt like everything had fallen into place.

"Sarah let go!" Toby squirmed and she released him. "What happened to your eyes, any how? Did you fall?"

"I got real hot stuff on them and it burnt me. So I have to wear these until it gets better."

"Oh. That was dumb of you."

"I know." She smiled at his honesty. "Hey Tobes, maybe you could come visit me when you're older. I have a room in my house that I've saved just for you."

"You do? That's so cool!"

"We could go see all the big palaces in London, there are a bunch. They have soldiers wearing big black furry hats outside. Did you get the postcard I sent you?" Sarah asked. She had sent several letters to him, but never got any kind of reply. She assumed her dad or Irene threw them out.

"Nuh uh, but I know what you're talking about. I saw them on TV one time."

Sarah noticed that Jareth and her dad were still in deep conversation, and she wondered what they were talking about. She didn't picture them having much in common; a lawyer and a Goblin King didn't seem like natural friends. Jareth caught her staring, and he said something to her dad and walked over to them.

"May I come and say hello?" Jareth asked Sarah, watching as Toby went down the slide backwards.

"Of course." Toby ran over to them. "Toby, this is Jareth." Toby looked him up and down carefully.

"Hello, Toby. I've heard so much about you."

"You can't be him." Toby decided, and Jareth looked at Sarah. She shrugged. "You have short hair. The Goblin King has stupid long hair."

"Toby, say hello properly." Sarah hissed, trying not to laugh as Jareth frowned at the insult the seven year old boy had just unwittingly delivered.

"Sorry. Hi." Jareth held his hand out and Toby shook it cautiously.

"And who's this Goblin King?" Jareth asked politely, and Toby shrugged.

"Nobody. Just a guy in my dreams I guess." With that, Toby ran off back to his dad to ask him to come and play.

"Why is he having dreams about you?"

"I suppose memories have stuck with him and manifest themselves as dreams. It's harmless, Sarah."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of him dreaming about all that though."

"It's not as if I'm going to come back and take him away, if he thinks they're just dreams then there's no problem."

"If you say so. What were you and Dad talking about?"

"Just the weather."

"Oh. Thanks for this, love. This was the best surprise!"

"This wasn't the surprise." Jareth said lightly, with a quirked eyebrow. Sarah frowned at him.

"It wasn't?"

"It was part of it, I suppose. The real surprise comes later."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews of the last chapter! I honestly appreciate them all so much and I love hearing from all my regular readers. Please leave a review!  
**


	9. Say Yes

Sarah spent several hours with her family, and as it got later in the day, she thought of how lucky she truly was. Some people never had the chance to reunite with their families, and although her life hadn't gone the way her dad had planned, she didn't feel the same desperate need for his approval than she had a few years earlier.

Eventually, Sarah decided they should go home. If she didn't go now, she'd never want to leave. Toby pouted a little, but when she told him she'd send him a present from London he soon perked up.

"Thanks for coming, kiddo. It's been good to see you." Robert told her as they stood in the lobby of her childhood home. Jareth was currently busy being shown Toby's collection of Ninja Turtles before they left, leaving Sarah and her father to talk.

"And you Dad."

"I feel like I've wasted time, being angry at you. You clearly made the right decision. You look so happy, glowing almost."

"I am happy. Especially right now. Thank you so much for letting me see Toby." She hugged him, and he squeezed her tightly, just like he used to when she was a kid.

"I made a mistake before." He admitted, still hugging her. "I do mean what I said on the phone, Sarah. I am truly sorry for what happened between us, and I hope you can forgive me." Sarah looked up at her father, the man who had raised her and given her everything when Linda abandoned her. He had certainly made mistakes, but he was human. What was the use in holding grudges?

It had dawned on Sarah that afternoon that when she became Fae, her family would age and die in what was essentially a blink of an eye. She needed to cherish them, love them fiercely before they were gone.

"I forgive you."

"Thank you. We'll come visit you soon, once you're ready for us."

"Will Irene have an extended visit to her mother's planned?" Sarah asked snarkily, and Robert laughed.

"Irene will come too. She loves you too Sarah, but you know what she's like. She has certain expectations of how people live their lives." Robert told her, ignoring his daughter's cynical expression.

Sarah knew what he meant; women like Irene got married young, popped out a few kids, drank at lunchtime and spent their husbands salaries, then got replaced aged forty by a younger woman.

"I understand her expectations, and they sound so boring I think I'd rather drink paint than meet them."

"Sarah." Her father said warningly, though Sarah could tell he was trying not to laugh. "It's been so great to see you." He said again. "And to meet Jareth, of course."

"Do you like him?"

"He seems nice. Very English. He clearly loves you a great deal."

"I hope so." She smiled. She could hear the door to Toby's room open, and Jareth's voice could be heard from the hall.

"So if I understand correctly, they all live in a sewer? With a rat?"

"Yeah! And they get to go around beating all the bad guys up! With these cool weapons that Dad says I'm not allowed to have 'cos I'll put my eye out."

"Very wise." They were coming down the stairs, and Sarah smiled when she saw that Jareth was giving Toby a piggy back ride. He was really great with kids, especially Toby. "I'll have to put you down now Toby, Sarah and I have to leave."

"Okay." Toby said sadly, and as soon as Jareth put him down, he ran to Sarah and hugged her tightly. "Promise you won't go away again? You'll call me?"

"I promise sweetie. You'll see me again, and I'll send you that present, remember?" Toby nodded enthusiastically.

"You're sure I can't give you two a ride anywhere?" Robert asked, and Sarah shook her head.

"No Dad, I feel like a walk, then we'll just get the train. We have time before our flight." Sarah was lying through her teeth of course; they just had to find a quiet spot and they'd be home in seconds.

"Well, if you're sure." He pulled Sarah into another hug. "You take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will."

"And Jareth, you be good to her." Robert warned, and Jareth nodded solemnly.

"Of course. Goodbye Robert. Goodbye Toby. Cowabunga and all that." Toby giggled and offered Jareth a high five, which he accepted with gusto.

"Bye Dad. Bye Tobes! You be good!" Sarah kissed the top of her little brother's head, knowing how much she would miss him. Still, at least she would see him again. She opened the front door and they left.

They walked back to the park. Darkness was falling and it would be easy to steal away without anybody seeing.

"He's still a lively little chap."

"You're so good with him." Sarah told him fondly, lacing their hands together.

"I've had some practice with children, you know." He reminded her, eyebrow raised.

"I wouldn't call what you do practice, Jareth." She didn't like talking about his duties as Goblin King, but thankfully no children had been wished away since they'd been together.

"Well, we'll agree to disagree."

"D'you think we'll have kids?" Sarah asked, although she already knew the answer. They hadn't spoken about children for a while, but she thought about it fairly often. What they'd look like, what they would name them. What kind of a dad Jareth would be.

"Of course. I'm sure we've discussed having children."

"I know we have. I was just thinking about it again, maybe seeing Tobes made me broody. It's a nice thought, kids with you."

"It is, isn't it?" Jareth smiled, kissing the top of her head. "A very pleasant thought indeed. You'll make a wonderful mother. Toby clearly adores you."

"How many would you want?"

"More than one would be a blessing. I propose we just keep going after that and see where we end up." Sarah laughed. "But not yet, of course." His voice had changed from being playful to rather assertive, and she looked at him curiously.

"Why not yet?" Sarah didn't really want children right now, but she was curious to know why he sounded so adamant about it.

"If you were to become pregnant with my child as a human, there would be no problem, as I told you ages ago half human children are quite possible. But you're not fully human, and you're not yet Fae. Your life force is incredibly delicate at the moment, and if you were pregnant with a fully Fae child you would be at enormous risk of losing the child or dying yourself. Their power would be too much for you, and you would be unable to sustain their growth. Surely I've told you this?" He said the words so casually, and she looked at him with a horrified expression.

"Um, no, I think you forgot to mention that small detail." Sarah said in horror. "It's a good job I take the pill then."

"The pill is useless, sweetheart. I forgot you were still taking it, actually." He told her casually, and she squeaked in surprise.

"What? Then how am I protected against pregnancy if the pill doesn't work?"

"Magic." He shrugged, and she stopped walking.

"Magic? You didn't tell me. You should have told me!"

"It's a simple contraceptive spell, effective and long lasting."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this." Sarah said quietly. "You should have asked me before you did something like that."

"Sarah, it is just one way that I make sure you're safe. Don't be mad at me for it."

"I just wish you'd have told me you were using magic on my uterus."

"Next time I use magic on your uterus, I will give you two weeks written notice." He said sincerely, and despite herself she laughed. "I'm sorry, you're right. I should have told you."

"It's alright. But seriously, I don't like not knowing what's going on with my body. So, I can stop taking the pill?"

"If you wish to." Jareth shrugged. "Unless you use it for something else."

"I guess it stops me getting PMT." She shrugged. Jareth laughed.

"Is that why I caught you crying over that documentary about pandas eating ice cream the other week? Forgive me love but it doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of it." Sarah hit his shoulder. "Sorry."

"The panda had just lost it's mom, it was really sad!" She said defensively.

The conversation wasn't heading the way he wanted it to; he had planned to take her straight back to London and propose to her, but this was definitely not the right note to do it on. Contraception discussions didn't traditionally lead to proposals.

They reached the park, and Jareth sat Sarah down on a bench. He took the seat beside her, and she leaned into his shoulder. The light was fading, and the neighbourhood was quiet. Sarah had always loved this time of day, just as the streetlights started to come on. It was still summer, and dusk was hazy, filled with barbecue smoke and the smell of freshly cut grass.

"Sarah, you know how very precious you are to me, don't you?" He asked her quietly, and she looked up at him and nodded.

"I know."

"The time I've spent with you has been the best of my life." Sarah smiled; it was high praise indeed considering he'd been alive for almost sixteen hundred years. "I would never do anything to cause you pain."

"I love you, Jareth." She gripped his hand tightly, wondering what the reason behind this sudden declaration was. For a horrible moment, she thought he might be dumping her.

"I love you too, my Sarah."

"Can we go home? It must be late in London. I'm really tired."

"Of course. Off we go." Sarah looped her arm round his and squeezed her eyes shut, and they were gone.

* * *

Sarah could hear an awful lot of traffic. Opening her eyes, she saw they weren't at their house like she had expected, but standing on Westminster Bridge, at the exact spot where he came to her on her birthday last year. It was much later in London, and the only people on the streets were drunk. The bridge was illuminated by street lights, and although it was much warmer than it had been that October, it took her right back to the night they had their first date.

"Why are we here?" She asked, frowning in confusion. "I thought we were going home."

"We will. I wanted to bring you here, just for a minute." She stared out over the water, looking at the lights bounce off the pitch dark river. It was her favourite place, the view always calming her. It was even more special now, it was their bridge. "I wanted you to know that it doesn't matter where you want to be. If you want to move to America again to be closer to Toby, we can. It all started here on this bridge, and where we go next can be decided here too."

Jareth had decided that this was the place where he wanted to ask Sarah to be his wife; it may not have been the grandest place, but it was theirs.

"I don't want to leave England. I do love it here. It always looks so beautiful." She sighed. "This has been the best day. You're too good to me."

"Nonsense." Jareth told her, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I sometimes feel as though I am not worthy of such a wonderful lover. You're so kind, so clever, so thoughtful. And you chose me."

"You're a magical being with more power than I can comprehend, handsome, good with my brother, funny, and you somehow fell in love with me. I think I'm the lucky one, Jareth."

"We'll agree to disagree love."

They stood in silence, huddled together watching the boats pass. Then, just as Big Ben struck one, Jareth moved to the side of her, and whispered in Sarah's ear. She leaned to listen, but didn't take her eyes off the view that stretched out before her.

"I need to ask you something rather important."

"What?" Sarah asked, frowning. She turned to face him, and gasped when she saw he was down on one knee, holding a box open that contained the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. He looked nervous, and Sarah could see that his hand was shaking. She felt as if she was in a dream, hardly daring to believe that the wonderful man she loved was kneeling before her.

"Sarah Williams, I love you more than I could possibly say. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife? My Queen?" Sarah couldn't speak, a lump in her throat. She felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks, and she merely nodded several times, reaching down and pulling him up into a hug.

"Yes! Yes!" She sobbed into his shoulder, a little embarrassed by her emotional reaction. It had caught her completely off guard, but the whole thing was so perfect. He stood back and slipped the ring on her the third finger of her left hand. She stared down at her finger, admiring the intricate detail of the gold band. It fitted her perfectly, and tingled against her skin slightly. She wondered what kind of magic was infused in it; this couldn't be a normal ring.

"Thank you." He breathed, kissing her deeply. She went to run her fingers through his hair, forgetting that he was wearing it short. It felt wrong celebrating their engagement when he didn't look like himself.

"Take me home. I want to see you, not the glamour." She told him, and he nodded, holding her face delicately. He would do anything she asked of him.

It was a little difficult to just disappear; a small crowd had gathered round them and were applauding. Jareth thanked them, and pulled Sarah away. They walked for a couple of minutes in silence, as Sarah tried to process what had just happened. She was engaged, she was engaged to Jareth. She was going to be his wife, he would be her husband.

She opened her eyes, and saw they were in their hallway.

"I was kind of hoping you'd take me to bed." She murmured in his ear. She ran her fingers through his hair, toying with the strands that hung over his chest.

"And I will. Believe me, I will." He almost growled the words, and Sarah felt a jolt of desire shoot through her. "First, I have another gift for you."

"Another one?" She asked, confused. "You've given me so much already. It's not even my birthday."

"I can never give you enough, my darling. You have given me so much that everything I do for you is repayment in kind. This gift is rather special. We don't normally exchange rings in my land. This," he waved his hand a flat square box appeared in his grasp "is what I give you as the Fae symbol of our betrothal."

She opened the box he held out for her, and when she saw what lay inside, she almost started crying all over again.

"It's an amulet, like yours." She whispered, tracing her fingers over the delicate golden pendant. The chain was so thin and intricate it looked as though it had been made from spider's webs. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, precious. I thought you might like a slightly smaller version than my clunky old thing. Small, but still powerful." He waved his hand again and the box vanished. She lifted her hair so he could place the necklace round her throat. It dangled delicately just above the hollow. She walked to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She decided to remove the bandages above her eyes. They had changed again, a small violet line appearing. Jareth stood behind her, and ran a finger gently above her eye in awe.

"My fiancée." He said, hardly daring to believe it. Their eyes met in the mirror, and she smiled at him. "Do you like it?"

"It's wonderful." Even in the darkness of the hallway, the amulet shone, glinting as though the sun were shining on it. "What does the symbol mean?"

"It is my crest. It signifies that we are one. When we are married, our magic will be mixed within it, and in mine too. It will bind us to one another, even more than we are already. Now, it should serve as a focus point for your magic and help it grow. I couldn't give you the amulet before now, you were not ready. But you have made such wonderful progress that everything seemed to fall into place at once."

"It really has." Sarah touched the amulet gently with her fingers, tracing the engraved pattern. It tingled underneath her fingers. "Do I need to keep it on all the time?"

"Yes. If you remove it, it will not stop your magic growing, but it might make it a little less precise when the time comes for you to begin using it. However, most importantly it is a symbol of your commitment to our betrothal not only to me, but any other Fae you may come into contact with and I would rather you kept it on at all times."

"I will. What about you? When we're married, will you have anything to show it?"

"I thought I might have a wedding ring made, a nod to our life up here."

"I'd like that."

"Are you happy?" He looked at her in the mirror, and she saw that he looked worried. She frowned at him, wondering why he was questioning her happiness when she could hardly keep from crying with joy. "I know you're still young, and I was worried this might all be a bit too soon for you."

"Jareth, we're going to be together for thousands of years. I don't think a year or two will make a difference."

"Very true, if a little unromantic." He teased her. He turned her round, and kissed her so tenderly she thought she might cry yet again. "Can I take you to bed now?" He asked against her lips.

"I insist."

She expected him to take her there using magic, and was surprised when he lifted her, bridal style, and carried her easily up the two flights of stairs that lead to their room. He kicked open their door, and Sarah's breath caught in her throat.

Dozens of candles floated in mid air around the room, bathing the bed in a soft golden light. Jareth had even strewn rose petals on the bed, something that Sarah had always considered to be tacky, but actually right now was one of the sweetest things she had ever seen.

"Do you like it? I thought a little old fashioned romance was in order."

"It's beautiful. You're beautiful."

"I prefer 'ruggedly handsome' if you don't mind, love."

He carried her over to the bed, sitting down so she was resting on his lap. They kissed for what felt like hours, lost to each other. They broke apart, breathing heavily. She smiled at him, eyes lidded heavily.

"Make love to me. Fiancé."

She didn't have to ask twice.

* * *

"Sources have reported that he proposed to the human, and she accepted."

"Proposed? Where?"

"On a bridge in a human city."

"Did he give her an amulet?"

"No, just a ring."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"You are dismissed."

Juturna sat on her throne. The room was empty, and everyone in the castle had gone to bed. It had been just two weeks since the birth of her son, and she had become obsessed with assuring his future. It was time, she had to act while she could. She had been denied the throne, and she would see that her son would not suffer the same fate. She had to be careful; her father had warned her against spying on family, and he was not someone she wished to cross.

If she tried to murder the human, she would be executed. If she tried to murder Jareth, she would be executed. Even if she succeeded in her mission, Alaric would be passed over as punishment for his mother's crime. It was a difficult situation, and Juturna was determined to solve it before the human became Fae. Time was running out; the markings had come through, and her magic had started to grow. Juturna wondered if Jareth had worked out that the sudden surge in power was due to a threat being present; her. He hadn't come barging in shouting the odds yet, so she assumed he was oblivious.

Juturna's powers were weak, pitifully weak, but she was still strong enough to transport herself Above. The birth of her son had strengthened her, and she had made the choice to strip his power from him and mix it with her own. He was a babe, his powers were strong from being sustained in the womb and would begin to diminish with every passing day. The time to act was now, even when he was so very young, just weeks old. His powers would replenish as he grew, she hoped. She needed it more than him, she needed it to make him strong. She would make him King.

Finding Sarah had been a job for her Fae spies, who were easily bought rather than loyal. Then, she had devised a plan to get close to Sarah without arousing suspicion. She wanted to do it herself; the last time she had entrusted a job to another, they had ended up killing the wrong person, causing her nothing but trouble for the last six hundred years. Her mother had been easily fooled by the smallest amount magic, and Juturna had cast a spell to make her think they had been friends for several weeks.

She had been surprised by Sarah; she had been expecting someone special, but as far as she could tell the girl was crude, ill mannered and a drunk. Jareth must have lowered his standards somewhat, she couldn't understand his obsession with this human. Jareth had almost caught her, but the cloaking spell and quick exit seemed to have saved her. Juturna's main priority was to stay away from Jareth; he had a temper, and she didn't like her chances against him. Now she was a Queen, her actions represented her kingdom, and going against her brother could be seen as an invitation for warfare.

She could not kill this girl; even an untimely accident would arouse Jareth's suspicions, he had her watched so closely. Something must happen that could be Jareth's fault, or the human's, but not Juturna's. The plan was already underway, her little pawn Linda unwittingly helping her. A few weeks, perhaps months if things did not go her way, and the female would be dead, she was sure of it.

Jareth had cast so many protection spells that it was near impossible for Juturna to get near the house; when she had tried to step over the threshold, she had detected a spell that would have sent shocks all through her system, paralyzing her. She had only just managed to avoid it. Jareth certainly was determined to keep her out.

She would win though. She would always win, in the end.

* * *

 **A/N: Ending the romance with a visit to that bitch..  
**

 **Please leave a review! Thanks for all your lovely comments on the last chapter. I know the updates are crazy frequent, but I just want to finish this story to prove to myself I can do it!  
**


	10. Pre Marital Tension

"I don't want to go." Sarah grumbled, dressed in her usual work clothes of a sweater and pencil skirt. It was raining outside, and even though it was the middle of summer it was seriously chilly. "This weekend has been so perfect, I don't want it to end."

They had spent the entirety of Sunday in bed, alternating between sleeping, sleeping together and talking about their future plans.

Not much had been decided, but Sarah had asked for an Aboveground wedding as well as Underground, and Jareth had agreed straight away. He had always assumed she would want both, and the Aboveground wedding could take place before she was Fae, as it would have no significance Underground anyway. He wanted to give her as much humanity as he could, knowing that soon everything would be different.

"I know love, but you love your job really."

"I love you more." She said sulkily. "Fine, I'll go. I guess I'll have to give it up soon anyway so I might as well finish what I've started."

"That's the spirit." Jareth said cheerily. "Shall we go then?" She looped her arm through his, and Jareth smiled when he caught sight of her ring glinting on her left hand. He still wasn't used to seeing it there, and it made his heart flutter every time he saw it.

"Let's go." Sarah said, and Jareth did as he was told. They appeared in the usual alley, and Sarah hugged him longer than she normally did.

"What's the matter?" Jareth asked. "You don't seem yourself."

"I'm fine." She said, not looking at him. "I just feel a little emotional this morning, that's all. I guess you were right about the pill not stopping my PMT. I feel like I could cry and eat a whole chocolate cake at the same time."

"No crying, but cake is acceptable. I'll see you at six, and we can watch whatever terrible film you want to tonight."

"Thanks." She said gratefully. "I should be happy. I am happy. Really happy."

"I know you are, love. Go to work, and I'll see you later."

Sarah waved goodbye to him, and walked over to her office. She walked up the stairs to the second floor where her department was, and said good morning to her colleagues.

"Good morning Alison." She waved, and Alison looked at her suspiciously.

"What's that on your finger?" She asked with a wise grin, and Sarah smiled awkwardly.

"I got engaged at the weekend." She admitted, and Alison shrieked and hugged her. Sarah didn't like to talk much about her personal life at work, and as several women swamped round her to look at the ring, she felt decidedly uncomfortable. They all asked for details, and she gave them the bare bones of the story. She guessed she'd have to get used to this, at least for the next day or so.

"It's such an unusual ring!" One woman, who Sarah was pretty sure was called Pat, said. "Very intricate."

"He had it made for me." Sarah told them, to appreciative "ooh"'s.

She still hadn't told her mom or dad, though Jareth had told her the previous day that he had asked her father permission to marry her on the way back from his nephew's naming ceremony. She had been touched that he went to all that effort for her, and surprised her dad had managed to keep a secret.

She kept her head down for the rest of the day, editing a new book that had just come in called "Lost In Love", which was about a woman who got lost in the woods and met a lumberjack. It made Sarah feel even worse; looking at terrible work all day was always depressing, but when she was already in such a bad mood it felt like torture.

Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was lunchtime. She wasn't hungry, and she knew that she had a phone call to make. She hated to tell her mom over the phone, and before her dad, but if she didn't tell her soon it would look like she was trying to hide it. Sarah tried to work out when she should say it happened, what with the flight she was supposed to have taken home from New York. She picked up the phone, and decided instead to call her Dad. It would be 7am there, and if she was quick she wouldn't get caught making international phone calls from the company's line.

"Hello?" Irene answered the phone, and Sarah grimaced.

"Hi Irene, it's Sarah."

"Sarah, you're calling awfully early."

"It's not early here. I just needed to catch my dad before he went to work, is he still there?"

"I'll pass him over." She could hear Irene mutter something, and Toby shouting in the background. He must have been getting ready for school.

"Sarah?"

"Hi Dad."

"Is there a problem?" He asked, sounding wary. Sarah laughed.

"No, no problem. I just wanted to tell you before I called Mom. I said yes."

"Oh that's wonderful news! Congratulations honey."

"Thanks Dad. Thanks for saying he could ask me."

"I don't think he really wanted my permission, Sarah. He asked because he knew it would mean a lot to you. You don't need my permission for anything, kiddo. I didn't give you permission to run off to London but that seems to have worked out pretty well for you. I'm proud of you."

Sarah felt tears prick her eyes, and she smiled even though he couldn't see.

"Thanks Dad. Will you tell Tobes for me? I have to go, but I'll call again soon."

"Sure thing kid. Bye."

"Bye Dad."

She hung up the phone and picked it up again straight away. It was difficult being the child of divorced parents; she didn't want to play favourites, and timing was important. She punched in her mother's number, and waited for the phone to connect.

"Hello?" The voice at the other end wasn't her mom's, and Sarah tried to place it.

"Um, hi. Is my mom there? It's Sarah."

"Oh, hello Sarah. It's Judith." Sarah screwed her nose up in distaste. Even talking to the woman on the phone was annoying.

"Oh, hey."

"How are you?" Judith asked, her voice even more clipped than usual. Sarah got the impression she didn't really care.

"Fine, thanks."

"Recovered from Friday?"

"Er, yeah. Is my mom there?" She asked again, not wanting another lecture on drinking responsibly.

"She's just here. Goodbye."

"Sarah?" Linda came on the line, and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Mom. I wasn't expecting to talk to Judith."

"She just popped over for a chat, that's all. Jeremy's left again."

"Oh Mom. When are you going to ditch that loser?"

"He's not a loser Sarah. He's troubled, a true artist is always complicated."

"Of course he is." Sarah said sarcastically. "Poor tortured actor who can't stay away from twenty year old ingenues."

"Sarah!" Her mother said, sounding hurt, and Sarah felt a little guilty for being so harsh on her. "Are you alright honey? You don't normally call from work." Linda asked, and Sarah almost laughed at the concern in her voice.

"I have some news."

"Oh?"

"Jareth asked me to marry him last night."

"He did?!" She squealed. "I hope you said yes!"

"Of course I said yes." Sarah snapped at her, feeling a little sensitive.

"Well, I am just so pleased! What wonderful news! Can I come over and see you tonight? I want to give my future son-in-law a hug!"

I bet you do, Sarah thought.

"Sure. Come over about seven, I'll cook something." She actually planned to just ask Jareth to wave his hand and make something.

"I'll bring dessert."

"Fine. See you later then."

She hung up, not sure if she was dreading seeing her mother or looking forward to it. She certainly didn't relish the prospect of her mother being overly touchy with Jareth yet again, but it was nice that her mom wanted to celebrate with her.

* * *

She watched the clock for the rest of the day, until finally it was time to leave to meet Jareth. He always met her at the door of her office, rather than the alley.

"Hello darling. How was your day?" He kissed her hello, and she sighed.

"Long. Long and boring. I should have stayed home with you." She said, cuddling into him.

"I was quite busy today informing my Kingdom of our engagement, so you would have been alone. My father wishes to meet you soon."

"He does?" Sarah asked, feeling rather scared of meeting Jareth's father.

"Of course. You will be queen, and he needs to know what you're like."

"So he'll inspect me?" Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow. Jareth shook his head.

"Nothing as terrible as that. He's agreed to come Above, so we'll have dinner at our house. He wouldn't be able to acclimatize to the real world. My mother also wants to meet you, but I think that's just because she's so excited at the prospect of finally having a daughter-in-law she might explode." Sarah smiled; Jareth's mother had looked sweet in her portrait, and by all accounts she was a kind woman.

"I'd like that. By the way, speaking of mothers, Linda's coming over tonight. I called her to tell her the good news and she insisted on coming to see us. Well, I'm sure she's coming to see you really." Jareth grinned at her; it was no secret that he and her mother flirted outrageously, but it was nothing serious. He would never betray Sarah's trust, and if it truly bothered her he would put a stop to it. He got the impression she secretly found it rather amusing.

"Wonderful. I will be on my best behaviour tonight, I assure you. Shall we go? Walk or magic?" He always felt ridiculous calling it "magic", but it was the only word to describe it really.

"Magic. I need a lie down before Mom comes."

"A lie down? Sarah, are you alright?"

"Considering I hardly got any sleep yesterday and exerted a lot of energy celebrating our engagement, thirteen times might I add, I'd say it's not surprising I'm a little tired."

"Do you want me to check your magic?" Jareth asked, looking concerned. He had tried to refrain from checking it without her knowledge, and didn't want to interfere with the progress of her transformation by introducing his magic too much. She needed to be strong in her own right, not because of him.

"No. I'm fine, I'll just have a nap and I'll feel better. Work was so boring today that it might have actually sedated me. Let's just go." They walked to the alley together, and seconds later they were home, standing in their bedroom. "Thank you." Sarah crawled onto the bed and fell asleep straight away. Jareth watched her with concern, but resisted the urge to check her. Covering her with a blanket, he went downstairs to clean up before Linda came.

* * *

"Jareth!" Linda stood on the door step, holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and balancing a tupperware dish on the other. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to ask Sarah?"

"It was a surprise." He said simply, taking the things she was carrying. "You're looking lovely this evening. Jeremy couldn't make it?"

Jareth and Jeremy didn't get on; they both thought the other was a smarmy git.

"Don't talk to me about him." Linda sighed, as she flounced into the house. She was dramatic by nature, and Jareth was getting used to her constant on-off relationship.

"Sarah's asleep, I'll go wake her."

"Asleep now? That's odd." Linda said. "Is she sick again?"

"No, just a hard day at work I think. Plus a little jet lag." Linda looked confused, and Jareth remembered that she had seen them on Friday night. "I surprised Sarah with a quick trip to see her father. Concorde is a marvelous invention, there and back in the blink of an eye."

"Coming back to Earth with a bump, I believe the phrase is. After a weekend of romance I'm not surprised she's tired. Although I'm not sure seeing Robert is anyone's idea of romance."

"She enjoyed it. She got to see Toby again."

"Well, I'm glad." They walked up the stairs together, and Jareth left Linda on the landing of the first floor, telling her to go and make herself comfortable in the living room. He left the container and the bottle of champagne on a table by the living room door. He continued up the stairs to their bedroom. He rarely used the stairs in his own house, finding them to be a dull waste of time.

"Sarah?" He said softly, opening the door. She still slept soundly, and he walked over to her. Lying down next to her, he whispered in her ear. "Sarah, your mother's here."

"Huh?" She mumbled, turning over to face him. "Wha' tim'sit?"

"A little after seven."

"'Kay, I'll get up." She stretched, opening her eyes slowly. The bandages over her eyes had come loose while she slept, and Jareth pressed them back down.

"Do you feel better?" He asked her softly, stroking her forehead.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened, I just felt really bad today."

"Isn't that normal? Around your.." Jareth came from a society where they didn't really speak of private bodily functions, but Sarah knew he meant to say 'period'. She had no idea if Fae women even had periods, and she wasn't entirely sure Jareth knew either.

"I guess. Can you take care of dinner?" She asked him, stretching out her arms.

"Done." He told her. "I'm quite the excellent cook, you know."

"You mean those goblins of yours are." She said, sitting up. "Okay, go down and entertain my mother - not too much." She said pointedly, and Jareth grinned at her. "I'll be down in a second, I just want to fix my hair and change into something more comfy."

"Of course."

Jareth went back down the stairs, and continued down to the kitchen to get three champagne glasses. He took them and the bottle into the living room, where Linda was staring out of the window aimlessly. He placed the things on the table, making Linda jump.

"She'll be down in a moment."

"Great. I can't wait to see the ring! Where did you get it?"

"I designed it, actually. I have an old friend who makes that sort of thing."

"Oh! How romantic!" Linda said, clutching her hands to her chest.

"I think so." Sarah said, coming into the room. "Hey Mom." Linda ran over to her and enveloped her in a hug so tight that Sarah looked at Jareth for help. He just shrugged, and tried not to laugh.

"Hello sweetie! Let me see, let me see!" Sarah duly held out her hand for inspection. The intricate design of the ring really was beautiful, she thought as her mother squealed over it. The Labyrinth design had not gone unnoticed, and she hadn't been sure whether to laugh or cry.

"How unusual! Jareth, you're an artist." She told him, and Jareth watched her trace over the metal. Sarah stood there, looking rather irritated, but didn't say anything. She really was behaving most strangely today.

"I just wanted something special for her."

"I brought champagne!"

"That's really kind of you, Mom. Jareth, can you open it?" Sarah asked.

Jareth did as he was told, popping the bottle open and pouring it into three glasses.

"To your engagement! May you both have a long and happy life together." Jareth and Sarah shot a look at each other - if only Linda had an idea of just how long their life would be.

* * *

"That was delicious." Sarah told Jareth as he cleared the plates away (by hand - he hated human chores almost as much as using stairs). "Mom, did you bring dessert?"

"Yes! I left it upstairs, let me go get it." Sarah waited until she could hear footsteps on the staircase.

"I'm tired again." She said, yawning and leaning on his shoulder. Jareth looked at the clock; it was only eight thirty. "I'll have whatever she's brought for dessert then I'm going to bed."

"Alright sweetness, whatever you want."

Linda came back into the kitchen holding a tupperware dish Sarah had never seen before; Linda wasn't particularly domestic, and Sarah didn't even know she could use her stove before she brought her that soup last week.

"Ta dah!" Linda opened the container to reveal the most delicious looking chocolate cake Sarah had ever seen.

"Oh my god, that looks amazing!" Sarah groaned. Jareth handed Linda a knife, and she cut Sarah a big piece.

"I knew it was your favourite! Jareth, would you like a piece?"

"No thanks. I'm sweet enough." Jareth didn't care for Above chocolate; he had very sensitive taste buds and found it overpoweringly sweet.

"Mom, this is so good." Jareth laughed as he saw Sarah take an enormous bite, closing her eyes in ecstasy. "Since when do you bake?"

"Judith made it, she asked me to give it to you."

"I guess she's not so hideous after all." Sarah said through a mouthful of cake.

"I haven't met Judith. What's wrong with her?" Jareth asked, remembering how the woman had vanished just as he'd gotten there.

"Nothing is wrong with her! She's just a little..critical, I suppose. She's a good friend to me Sarah and I won't have you say mean things about her."

"Fine. Tell her I said thank you." Sarah said begrudgingly. The cake really was amazing.

"Perhaps you two got off on the wrong foot. I want you two to be friends."

"Mom, no offence but I don't need a forty year old woman who feels the need to judge my relationship, my drinking habits and my career as a friend. I'm feeling really tired. I might go to bed."

"Okay sweetheart, I've got to go and give Jeremy his stuff back anyway."

Sarah rolled her eyes; the "giving Jeremy his stuff back" scenario always turned into "I accidentally slept with Jeremy" and then "Me and Jeremy are back together, isn't it wonderful!" Her mother was as predictable as the books Sarah edited.

"Thanks for coming round, it was good to see you." Sarah stood up and gave her mother a quick hug. "Goodnight!" She practically ran up the stairs, and Linda gave Jareth an odd look.

"Is she alright? She really doesn't seem like herself."

"Women's problems, I believe." He said lightly.

"Oh, that makes sense. And explains why she ate that cake so quickly. Right, I best be going. I'll leave the rest of that for her." Linda gestured to the cake on the table. "Congratulations again..son!" Jareth laughed, and showed her out. Shutting the door, he took himself to their bedroom. Sarah was undressing for bed.

"I'm sorry for running off, I just feel so tired, and a little sick. I'll be fine after a proper night's sleep."

"I'm worried about you, love." He told her, and she waved a hand, dismissing his concerns.

"There's no need. The markings are hurting, I'm sure it's just that making me feel tired." She peeled back the bandages and Jareth took a sharp intake of breath. "What?" She asked, looking scared. "What's wrong?"

"Go look." He said breathlessly, and she ran to the mirror. She stared at her reflection, tracing over the marks lightly with her finger tips.

"They've healed! You said it would take longer, it's only been a week."

"Nearly two." Jareth reasoned, and Sarah frowned at herself.

"Still, that's not right is it?" Sarah said quietly. She had had her reservations about how fast everything was going, but she didn't want to worry him. Now she was suddenly exhausted again for no real reason and her markings had healed so quickly, she was a little scared.

"No." He told her gently, admitting what he had known for the past two weeks; everything was moving far too rapidly, and he was consulting with his medics on whether or not it was actually safe for her. None of them could come up with a conclusive answer. "No, it's not right. Lie down, let me check you."

She did as she was told, and he placed his hand above her heart. He could still sense the slightest trace of Juturna, but that was all. Everything else seemed fine, the same as it had been the last time.

"It could be the amulet accelerating the process." He pondered, still examining her. "I think it must be the amulet."

"Why?" Sarah asked. "I thought it would anchor my magic, not interfere with it."

"It's not human metal, and it's infused with magic, as is your ring. It might be too much for you. I should have thought, it was careless of me."

"I don't want to take them off." Sarah said stubbornly, clutching at the necklace with her left hand. "They mean too much."

"What's the use of keeping them on if you're tired all the time? If it puts you in danger?" Jareth asked her sternly. "Take just the ring off, then."

"But it's so beautiful." Sarah said sadly, staring down at her finger. It was also the one reminder that she was still human; Jareth had given her this ring to acknowledge that, and now she couldn't even have that.

"You'll wear it again, Sarah. It's not forever. Once you're Fae, which at this rate won't be long, you can have it back. But I just don't want to expose you to too much while you're so weak. The amulet will be enough, and that's the thing that means the most. A true symbol of my love for you."

"Fine." She took the ring off, and threw it down rather aggressively. Jareth looked at her in disbelief; it was only a ring, and she would be able to wear it again eventually.

"Sarah." He said warningly, and she glared at him.

"What?" She got under the covers, rolling away from him.

"Don't be like this." He sighed; he was used to the odd hormonal rampage from her and the best way to handle it was gingerly.

"Be like what?" She challenged him, and Jareth spoke before thinking.

"Difficult." It was the wrong word, definitely. Nobody liked to be called difficult.

"I'm not being difficult. Maybe I'm too weak to understand."

"Sarah, you know I didn't mean it like that. It was my fault, I didn't realise that they would have such an affect on you or I would have just gotten you a mortal ring."

"I just want to go to sleep." She said miserably. "I feel useless."

"You're not useless, precious. You're just at an awkward stage in the transformation." He turned her over, and sat her up. He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her. "I love you Sarah. I know this isn't easy for you, and I can never express how much I value your sacrifice for me."

"I love you too. I want to be with you, and this is part of it. I just feel a bit down about the whole thing today. I'll be fine tomorrow."

"You mustn't bottle anything up. You can tell me how you feel, you don't need to be passive aggressive with me."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm fine, really. Can we just go to sleep?"

"I'm needed Underground for a while, I need to speak with my Father. Can I leave you to rest? I won't be late home."

"Okay baby." She mumbled, already half asleep. "Love you."

"Love you too, precious. Sleep well."

Checking she was safely asleep, Jareth went Underground.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Hope this chapter isn't too boring, but I hate those fanfics that are suddenly like "EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN TWO DAYS" with no build up and I'm desperately trying to avoid being one of those..**

 **I'd love to hear from you, you know what to do!**


	11. A Thousand Words

Jareth had lied; he didn't need to speak with his father. As soon as he was within his castle, he summoned the medic he had consulted previously about Sarah.

"Your Highness."

"Hello, Yeg. I wish to speak to you about my human companion again."

Yeg was an elderly Elf who had lived in the Goblin Kingdom for many years. Jareth greatly trusted him, he served not only as a medic but as a valuable advisory, particularly relating to matters involving Juturna. Elf medics were common, though Jareth also had a Fae healer. The Elves could not use magic, but were talented scholars and herbalists.

He was the one person Jareth could trust enough to tell him about his relationship with Sarah. Jareth had told her that he had announced the engagement Underground, but in fact he had only told his Father and Mother. He didn't want her to think he was trying to hide her away. Yeg had known about her for several months, and Jareth had asked him several times for advice.

"Is she well?" Yeg asked. "The process is continuing?"

"She is well, though a little out of sorts this evening." Jareth told the man, and the Elf shrugged.

"Not unusual in women folk." Yeg said stiffly, and Jareth wondered what he knew of women folk. He was unmarried, and the Goblins he saw every day weren't the same as human, Fae or even Elvish women.

"She is tired again, and her markings have fully healed."

"Already?" The old Elf said in surprise. "And they first appeared two Above weeks ago?"

"Yes. I am a little concerned at the sudden speed."

"Has anything changed since the last time I spoke to you?"

"I proposed to her, and gave her an amulet as well as a ring made of Fae gold." Jareth said, and the old man paused to think. Jareth watched him carefully, growing impatient until he finally began to speak.

"It may be that the presence of more magic than usual has alarmed her body and it is moving fast to protect her from death. The whole process is so individual to each person, not to mention poorly documented, that it is impossible to predict how it will happen. Perhaps she is just a faster developer than some. As long as she is relatively well, fatigue aside, I believe she will change at the rate her body is comfortable with. However, I think it would be best if you didn't add any extra magic into her body; I know you were checking her magic with your own rather often. It would be best to refrain from doing so, allow her body to find it's own power."

"If I stop doing that, will she be in no danger?" Jareth asked, desperate for some kind of reassurance.

"She's been changing for almost a year, the most imminent danger was at the start. As long as you keep repeating the, ahem, ritual." The old man shifted uncomfortably; the "ritual" he referred to was having sex regularly. The Elves were rather prudish, practical people, whereas the Fae were driven by pleasure and indulgence. Even the process to become a Fae was almost entirely based around sex.

"But her magic went away and then came back.." The old man held a hand up to interrupt him.

"As I assured you at the time Sire, that is not unheard of. It could have reacted to a Fae being nearby, anything can trigger a sudden surge. You know as well as I do that there are plenty of Fae that she could have passed without realising. Your Highness, forgive me but I think perhaps you are being a little paranoid."

"I suppose." Jareth admitted. "I feel as though something is amiss. Has there been any news of Juturna?" He had not heard anything during his time Underground

"We received a letter from her just after you left, reminding you of her wishes. I have heard from my brother in court that she has taken to her bed, citing the stresses of childbirth and motherhood."

"And the babe?" Jareth asked, curious as to his sister's sudden seclusion. Perhaps something was wrong with the child.

"Is well, though apparently entirely without magic." This was surprising; all babes carrying Fae blood should have magic present from birth. If it wasn't present now, it was unlikely it would ever develop.

"How odd." Jareth mused, suspicious of his sister's motives. "If he is powerless, he could never be Goblin King as he would posses no Fae qualities at all. Why is Juturna still pushing for me to name him? She should have informed me that the babe was all Elf."

"That would be for you to ascertain, Sire. I couldn't speculate."

"Compose a letter for me, ask her to desist this madness before I really get annoyed. Her child has been alive for such a short period of time yet she is obssessed with assuring him a throne. He wouldn't be able to rule for hundreds of years!"

"As you wish, Sire. I shall draw it up for your approval tomorrow. Will that be all?"

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry for calling you to me so late in the night."

"You are the King, Sire. I do as you bid, it is an honour to serve you."

"You are a good friend to me, Yeg. A loyal and trusted friend."

"Thank you, your Highness. I shall see you tomorrow."

"Thank you Yeg. You are dismissed."

Jareth watched as the old man hobbled away. He sighed; Yeg was right, he was being too paranoid. He was like an over protective mother, clucking around Sarah and not allowing her any space. Her magic would develop in it's own time, and if it was doing so a little quicker, was there really any danger? She had proven her strength all those years ago in his Labyrinth, and to doubt her now would be to belittle her.

He went to his office, checking that the treaty he had signed earlier that day had been taken to the right place. He saw that the portrait he had asked for had been placed there, and he picked it up to examine it. It was much smaller than the one he had shown Sarah, around arm width. It was a simple portrait of Jareth and Juturna, side by side (although they had not sat together for the portrait, as Jareth couldn't stand to be near her for the hours it took to complete a portrait). Sarah had wanted to see it, so he would take it above and show her.

He took himself back to London, appearing in their bedroom. She was not in the bed, and Jareth was alarmed to hear her being sick in the bathroom.

"Sarah?"

"Jareth? Is that you?"

"Yes, sweetheart. Can I come in?"

"No." She said quietly, sounding miserable. "I look awful."

"I don't care about how you look, precious. You're ill."

"It's nothing, I probably just have flu or something."

"Sarah, let me come in." He said sternly. He needed to check she was alright, especially after he had just been told he was being paranoid.

There was silence on the other side of the door. "Sarah!" He said in a near-shout.

"Fine." She relented. "But don't look at me."

He opened the door, and found her on the floor. She was pale and sweating profusely, her hair hanging in limp tendrils around her face. He knelt down beside her, brushing her hair from her face.

"Oh darling." He said sadly, pressing a kiss to her damp forehead. "I had no idea you were feeling so wretched."

"I'm okay. I guess this explains why I've been so tired all day." She said, feeling pathetic. "What am I going to tell work? I've already had a week off saying I had flu, now I really do. This is Karma, I know it."

"I could-" Jareth was going to suggest using a crystal and making them forget about her until she was ready to go back.

"No, I need to do it the mortal way." She told him, and he shrugged.

"If you insist. You can call them tomorrow."

"Jareth, can you leave? I think I'm going` to throw up-" It was too late, and Jareth turned away as she was sick into the toilet bowl. He didn't particularly care about seeing her vomit, but he knew she would be embarrassed by it. He went downstairs to get her water, and waited in the bedroom for her to come out.

She stumbled out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, still clutching her stomach.

"Oh love." Jareth said sympathetically, getting up to help her to bed. He helped get her in, pulling the covers up to her chin. She weakly murmured her thanks.

"What would I do without you?" She said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Here precious, have some water." He held the glass to her lips, and she took a small sip. She immediately started to gag, and Jareth waved his hand and a bowl appeared in her hands. She threw up into it, and Jareth felt awful. He never got sick, and seeing the one he loved be ill and not be able to help her was frustrating. Jareth didn't like feeling powerless.

"Can't you heal me?" Sarah asked croakily, and Jareth shook his head. He could do a little basic healing but he was no doctor.

"Cuts and scrapes and hangovers are about my limit, healing wise. You'll just have to sweat this out."

"What's the use in having a magic fairy boyfriend if he can't cure the flu?" Sarah said irritably, and Jareth laughed.

"Fae. Not fairy." Jareth said, crossing his arms. He sat on the bed besides Sarah, wondering what to do. She hadn't really been ill during their relationship, and he didn't have much experience in nursing the sick.

"What's that?" Sarah asked, pointing at the picture frame. She was slurring her words, and Jareth pressed his hand to her forehead. She had a high fever, and he was concerned. She was still pointing at the picture.

"It's that portrait I was telling you about, of me and Juturna. I'll show you it another time."

"Show me now." She demanded drowsily, putting the bowl down and sinking back into the pillows. Her pupils were dilated and she looked as though she could barely focus on anything. At least she was still speaking, but Jareth was concerned at her sudden descent into illness. "It'll distract me."

"As you wish, my love." He went to pick up the painting and brought it back to the bed. Sarah tried to sit up to look at it, and he pushed her gently back onto the pillows. "Rest, Sarah. There's no use exerting yourself just to look at a picture of my sister."

"You look nice." She said, reaching to touch the picture. "Your eyes are so weird." She sounded as though she was drunk, and Jareth was worried about how high her fever was. "But pretty. You're pretty."

"Thank you sweetheart. You're pretty too." He said appeasingly, and she was promptly sick again.

He walked over to the bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth, running it under cold water. He placed it on Sarah's forehead, and she smiled.

"I love you so much." She said quietly, reaching out to pat him on the head.

"I love you too, precious. Sleep now, darling." He said soothingly, and she nodded.

"It's weird your sister is Judith." Sarah said sleepily, her eyes closing.

"What?" Jareth said, staring at her in alarm. His heart was beating like a drum, her words sending chills through him. "What did you say?"

"Judith. She's there, in that picture." Sarah said, shrugging as she settled into the bed. "I didn't know you knew her."

"You're sure?" Jareth asked. He didn't want to alarm Sarah, especially in her current state. If she thought the woman in the picture was Judith, Jareth had a horrible feeling he knew why.

"Yeah. Judith. I thought her name was Juturna. That's a funny name." Sarah began to laugh hysterically to herself. "When we have kids can we name them normal names? Like Bob."

"Sarah, this is important. You're one hundred percent certain that you've seen this woman before? And that her name is Judith?"

"Uh huh. Oh God I feel.." She leant over the bed and was sick again, and Jareth just hoped she'd aimed into the bowl. "I wish I hadn't eaten that cake." She groaned.

The cake.

Jareth disappeared without a word, going straight to the kitchen. The chocolate cake "Judith" had given Linda sat on the table. Jareth held his hands over it, but could sense no magic within it. He was no expert, but he had spent hundreds of years learning the skills to detect poison after the incident with Beatrice. The cake didn't seem to have any obvious form of poison in, but he held it and took himself Underground to consult someone who would know better.

* * *

"Sire?"

"Yeg, I need you to take this cake. Sarah has become very ill, and she ate this cake a few hours ago. I have reason to believe Juturna gave her this."

"Juturna? How would she be able to deliver a cake to your human with all the protection spells in place?"

"I believe she has befriended Sarah's mother. I couldn't find any poison in it, but it might be disguised, I don't know. I don't trust myself anymore, I thought I was protecting Sarah and still Juturna managed to get to her!" Jareth was pacing the floor angrily, twisting his hands in his hair with frustration.

"What are the symptoms of her illness?" Yeg asked, whilst examining the cake.

"Vomiting, fever, she can't keep any liquid down."

"It could be human flu, Sire. I believe I have a draught that may help her. I will take this to my workshop and bring it back to you."

"Be quick about it." Jareth instructed, frustrated that the Elf would have to go there on foot. He hated leaving Sarah alone, and summoned a crystal to make sure she was alright. As it balanced on his finger tips, he tried to calm himself. She seemed to have drifted off to sleep, and he was thankful for that.

If Juturna really had infiltrated Sarah's life, he would have to act carefully. Confronting her now would mean he would have no chance of finding out what her plan was, and he would have no proof to present to their father. If he waited too long, whatever her plan was (and he was sure it would result in another death) may have succeeded already. The worst thing he could do right now was let on to his sister that he knew anything was wrong. He got the feeling he would only have to wait days, and then she would be his.

Juturna had several handicaps; she was impulsive, clumsy and above all predictable. He would play her game, and he would back her into a corner and win.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Yeg finally returned, holding a dark bottle. He bowed quickly, and handed the bottle to Jareth.

"Here is the medicine for your human. It is nothing powerful, just something to soothe her nausea."

"And the cake?" Jareth asked, holding the bottle up to the light. "Was it poisoned?"

"I could find no poison, but there was a mixture of herbs within. I recognize the herbs, but I am not certain of their purpose. They are not deadly in any shape or form, most of them are just used for health benefits. I am confused, I must admit Sire. I have sent a sample to my brother, and one to an old friend who practices in the North Elf Lands. They are more knowledgeable about herbal medicine; I have been practicing Fae healing for too long."

"You're sure it is not harmful?" Jareth asked, holding onto his amulet nervously. He always fiddled with it when he was scared, and right now he was more scared than he had ever been in his life. Losing Sarah would be more painful than anything he could possibly imagine. He still had a crystal in his hand, keeping one eye on her at all times. He shouldn't have left her alone.

"It is not deadly." Yeg said hesitantly. "In my experience, people only hide things in food when they intend them to harm. I could examine her." He offered, and Jareth shook his head.

"I don't want to alarm her. If she sees you, she'll know something is really wrong." Jareth said, trying to think how he should handle this situation. "If it is just flu, how long should it take for her to stop vomiting?"

"That should hopefully stop within the next day. Keep an eye on her, give her the medicine I have given you. If you really don't wish me to examine her, then that is all I can do."

"Thank you." Jareth told the main sincerely. The Elf left, and Jareth flopped down into a chair, suddenly feeling exhuasted. He looked at Sarah in the crystal; she was snoring now. He was taking a risk not allowing Yeg to look at her, but he had a plan. If she wasn't dead already, whatever Juturna had given her wasn't meant to kill her. Perhaps it was something to weaken her powers, to make her die. He had a plan to find out what was going on, and it would have to be enacted with the utmost care.

* * *

Sarah woke in the morning, still feeling awful. Jareth was still awake, lying next to her. He had been awake all night, just making sure she was still breathing and formulating his plan. He had sent the portrait back Underground, not wishing to look at it a second longer.

"Hey." She said, smiling. "What happened last night?"

"You don't remember?" He asked, frowning.

"I remember throwing up about a hundred times, then it's a bit of a blur."

"You went to bed, you were saying all sorts of things. Apparently our first child should be named Bob." She laughed. Jareth placed a hand on her forehead; her fever had broken.

"A perfectly reasonable name. I need to call work." She got up to go downstairs, and immediately ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She was still sick. Jareth was starting to think he should have allowed Yeg to look at her.

If Sarah couldn't remember their conversation, then she wouldn't remember saying that Judith was Juturna. This was exactly what Jareth had hoped for; he wanted to keep Sarah out of his plan. It would most likely end badly, and he didn't want Sarah to feel any guilt.

"Sarah, just let me do it my way." He told her through the door. He waited until the retching stopped, and she groaned her reply.

"Fine but can you make it so they all think I'm sick rather than non existent? It would save me a trip to the phone."

"Fine." He summoned a crystal, waved his hand over it and it was gone. "Done."

"Thank you." She opened the bathroom door. "I feel so bad."

"Is it flu, do you think?" Jareth asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"I think it might be one of those 24 hour bug things."

"I got you some medicine to take. Human medication won't work on you now." Hhe handed her the bottle and she frowned at it suspsiciously. "Just drink it, Sarah." He told her, feeling more like a stern father than her fiancé.

"Fine." She necked the bottle, and waited a moment. "Woah, that's amazing. I feel better already."

"That's my medic's work. He's the best, let me assure you."

"Tell him I said thank you." She said, getting back into bed. "I'm going back to sleep for a while."

"Yes precious." He watched as she fell asleep. She was beautiful even in sickness, and he felt even more determined to protect her from whatever Juturna had planned.

He would never let her win.

* * *

 **A/N: So there's another chapter down. There probably won't be an update tomorrow as I'm heading out for the day/night. Sunday's might be a little hungover..  
**

 **Please leave a review!**


	12. Going Places

"Jareth, you can go Underground. It's fine, you don't need to sit here and watch me all day. Those Goblins of yours have probably destroyed the place by now. " Sarah was lying on the couch under a blanket. She'd been off work for three days, and was feeling much better though still drained from her sickness bug. She was watching terrible daytime TV and was getting irritated because Jareth kept talking through This Morning. "Just leave me with Richard and Judy in peace."

"I don't know how you can stand to watch such drivel. I hope when we're married we don't become like them." He watched in distaste as the couple bickered over something or other.

"Speaking of marriage," Sarah said, sitting up slightly, "Should we set a date? For up here I mean. I know we can't for our real wedding, not yet."

"If you want to." Jareth shrugged. "I see no point in waiting. When were you thinking?"

"I thought a winter wedding might be nice." Sarah mused. "I don't know how long I can wait do be your ball and chain." She laughed, and he smiled at her. "I always liked the idea of an English wedding in winter."

"You want to get married here? I thought you'd want to go home." Jareth had assumed they would get married in America, and hadn't really given much thought as to when the wedding would be.

"This is my home, for now anyway." She said, and he thought once again that she really was giving up everything for him. "All of our friends are here, our life is here. This is where we fell in love. Well, kind of." She thought once again of the Labyrinth, and how she had been terrified of him. Funny how things could change; she could never have imagined that seven years later she'd be sitting in their house while he took care of her.

"I know where I fell in love with you, precious, and we will marry there when the time comes. But yes, I would like our Above wedding to be here. You'll be Mrs King."

"I'd prefer a real name rather than one you made up." She said lightly, stretching her legs out. "But I'll settle for being Mrs King for now. Will your family come?"

"No." He said firmly, and Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Juturna will certainly not be invited, and my parents would stick out like sore thumbs. They are not accustomed to Above and I would rather they didn't mix with mortals. My side will look rather empty, I'm sure."

"You have your Fae friends." She said. The Fae that lived Above were Jareth's closest friends, though she didn't see them very often and neither did he. He had pointed out that when you lived for thousands of years, you didn't need to spend as much time together. Sarah had gotten the impression that their social life was rather debauched, and Jareth had never really told her what they used to do for fun.

"Yes, they'll come. I'll tell them to leave your female friends alone." Jareth joked and Sarah sighed.

"Thanks. If we could avoid an orgy at the reception that would be fantastic."

"You joke, but actually that's not unheard of." Jareth said lightly, and Sarah made a face of disgust.

"Give me strength." Sarah flopped back onto her pillows. "So, orgy aside, it should be a lovely wedding." She joked. "A bunch of horny Fae trying to sleep with all the guests, and my mother and father in the same room. I can't wait."

"It'll be fine. If needs must, I can put a lovely calming spell on everyone there." Jareth suggested, and Sarah firmly shook her head.

"I'd prefer if you didn't drug our wedding guests, Jareth. It's not considered polite. No peaches in the wedding breakfast." She said faux sternly, and he shrugged.

"Of course. So where should we do it?"

"I don't know." She felt tired again. "A church I guess. Or at least somewhere nice. Candles would be cool."

"Candles. I think I can arrange candles."

* * *

A few weeks later, Sarah was walking home from work. Jareth had had to stay late Underground, and she was glad she had keys on her. It was the end of summer now, the warm hazy days giving way to autumn breezes. The leaves were turning brown and starting to drift off the trees. Sarah loved autumn, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, the nights drawing in. It would be her birthday next week, and the first anniversary of when she and Jareth had become lovers.

She approached her house to see her mother sitting on the stoop. When she saw her approach, Linda jumped up. She was surrounded by bags, and Sarah rolled her eyes. Linda did love spending money.

"Hi Mom. What are you doing here?" She asked, looking in her purse for her keys. "I haven't heard from you in a few weeks."

"I came to give you these." She rummaged in the bags, and handed Sarah a stack of bridal magazines. "Now that you've set your date, you better start planning!"

They had settled upon the 13th December, a Sunday. It was only a few months away, and Sarah hadn't really done anything for it. They hadn't even found a venue yet.

"I guess. It'll be fine, Mom. We're not that into having a big fancy wedding. We just want to be married." Sarah opened the front door and Linda followed her in. "We might just do it at a registry office then go to a pub. Who knows."

"Oh darling, you have to have a bit of glamour! It's the only wedding day you'll have, touch wood."

Sarah knew that she would, in fact, have another wedding that would be more elaborate than Linda could imagine. Jareth had told her that the formal Fae ceremony lasted two hours, and for a royal wedding thousands of guests could be expected. Sarah felt a little anxious about the whole thing, but it was far enough away that she tried to put it out of her mind.

"I'll wear a nice dress. Should I wear white?" Sarah asked, frowning. "I mean, we live together. And Jareth is possibly the most alluring man on the planet. Is anyone under the illusion that I'm a virgin?"

"Maybe wear white just so your father doesn't have a heart attack, sweetie. He probably thinks you sleep in separate beds."

"How are rehearsals going?" She asked, changing the subject. Linda was about to open a new show on the West End, and Sarah hadn't seen her for weeks.

"Wonderfully! I think it's gonna be a real hit! Are you coming to the opening night?"

"Yes, of course. Jareth sends his apologies but he says he won't be able to come." Sarah hadn't quite believed his excuse that he had to go and mediate a goblin boxing match, but she had accepted it none the less.

"What a shame! Well, you'll be there, Judith will be there, and Jeremy of course."

"So that's back on?" Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow. Her mother's love life was so complicated it could be a soap opera.

"Yes. It turns out it was all a misunderstanding and that his hand was actually.." The sound of the front door slamming stopped her mid story. Sarah would have to thank Jareth for that later.

"Hello ladies." He walked into the kitchen, kissed Sarah lightly on the lips and pecked Linda on the cheek. "How are we today?"

"Fine thanks. I was just telling Sarah about my play. What a shame you won't be able to come to the opening night." Linda pouted, and Jareth did his best to look forlorn.

"I'm terribly sorry Linda but I have a pressing work engagement that evening. I've already bought tickets for the following week." He said, and Linda broke into a smile.

"Well, that's something. What about the party after? Could you come after work? You're such a charmer, everyone loves you."

 _Yeah_ , Sarah thought begrudgingly, _don't I know it_. Whenever she and Jareth attended parties thrown by her mother, Jareth would inevitably end up surrounded by hoardes of beautiful women. He insisted that he only had eyes for Sarah, which she knew was true, but it still irritated her.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to come to that either. What a pity." Jareth said lightly.

"I was just telling Sarah I'll miss you. She'll be there of course, and Jeremy and Judith."

"I've still to meet this Judith. I would so love to." Jareth said, his voice dripping with charm. Sarah looked at him oddly; he knew how much she hated Judith, why would he want to meet her?

"We'll all have to have dinner sometime!" Linda exclaimed, and Jareth nodded enthusiastically. Sarah stared at him with an eyebrow raised.

"That would be marvelous. Perhaps after your play has opened."

Jareth knew Juturna would never turn up to an event where she knew he would be. He was going to have to trust that she could not resist an opportunity to get close to Sarah and that she would attend the play thinking that he wouldn't be there. He had been waiting weeks, and there was no sign of her. Sarah was healthy again, so the slightly hysterical need to catch her he had felt on the night he had spoken to Yeg had eased a little.

"I know so many J's in my life!" Linda exclaimed, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Jeremy, Judith, Jareth.."

"Jareth's sister has a 'J' name too." Sarah said casually, and Jareth stiffened at the mention of his sister.

"Oh! I didn't know you had a sister Jareth."

"A twin." He said uncomfortably. "We aren't close."

"If you're a twin, doesn't that increase your chances of having twins Sarah?"

"I have no idea, but I think it's a little soon to be talking about kids Mom. Especially twins." Sarah said, wishing she'd never brought the topic of Jareth's sister up.

"You will have them though, right?" Linda asked, and Sarah rolled her eyes. They weren't even married yet and all her mother could ask about was babies.

"We've discussed it." Jareth said; he wasn't used to discussing private plans with other people. "And there will be children eventually."

"Good!" Linda said, flipping through a magazine. "This dress would look great on you Sarah." Linda pointed at a dress that was essentially a huge marshmallow. It looked rather familiar, and Sarah shook her head.

"I don't really want anything that puffy." Jareth looked at the dress with interest, and shot Sarah a sly look.

"I think you'd look rather beautiful in that. Like a kind of pale jewel." He said innocently, though she saw he was smirking at his own joke. Sarah glared at him, turning the page violently.

"No huge dresses. I don't want to feel like I'm wearing a tent on the happiest day of my life."

"You'll look divine what ever you wear. You could wear rags and still look like a Queen, precious." He said slyly, and Linda began to coo over his sweetness. Sarah knew he was teasing her, and she smiled despite herself.

"When did this turn into a wedding planning session?" Sarah grumbled. "I just want to keep it small. Close friends and family having a nice day together. That's it."

"Will your family be coming Jareth? Your sister, and are your parents still.." the word 'alive' hung unspoken in the air, and Jareth frowned; he didn't look that old did he?

"My parents will be unable to attend, they travel a great deal. My sister and I are not close, as I said, so I have no desire for her to be there." Jareth shrugged. "A small wedding suits me."

"God, look at this woman." Sarah held up a page featuring a stern looking brunette wearing the most enormous dress Sarah had ever seen. "I don't want to look like that."

"You could never look like that, precious. You are far too beautiful to look so cross on your wedding day."

"Isn't he just the sweetest? I remember being young and in love." Linda sighed, and Sarah braced herself for an uncomfortable conversation about her father. "Of course, it doesn't always last long. You should enjoy it whilst you can before life gets in the way."

"Inconvenient things like daughters?" Sarah asked, feeling defensive. Linda always managed to say the wrong thing. Jareth looked between them, surprised at the sudden tension that had developed. He always tried to stay out of Sarah's relationship with her mother, believing it wasn't his place to try and "fix" them.

"Sarah, I didn't mean that."

"I was though, wasn't I? An inconvenience." This had come from nowhere, and Jareth watched her carefully. Why was she suddenly being so aggressive?

"Sarah, we've talked about what happened in the past and I thought you understood. I think I better go." Jareth showed Linda out, wondering what had gotten into Sarah. She could be a little snappy, but that attack on her mother was unprovoked.

When he got back to the kitchen, she was gone.

"Sarah?" He called irritably, wondering how she could have vanished from the kitchen without walking past him at the front door.

"Jareth? Jareth?!" Her voice called him in the distance. "I'm in the bedroom. Get up here!" He did as he was asked, and found her panting heavily standing against the wall.

"What's wrong?" He asked, checking her over. He stroked her face gently, and she looked up at him frowning.

"Um, so I was just in the kitchen. And now I'm here." His eyes widened as he realized what had happened.

"You transported yourself." He said breathlessly, amazed that it had happened without him feeling it. "Oh, precious."

"How?!" Sarah asked, and Jareth noticed she was shaking. "I didn't try or anything, I just thought that I was a little tired."

"That's how you did it. You thought you were tired, so you took yourself to the bedroom. This is amazing." He wrapped his arms around her reassuringly. He held her close, the feeling of her in his arms still something he was getting used to. He loved her so much, was so proud of her. "You're making so much progress, precious. You are truly incredible."

"I don't feel incredible. I feel like I don't have any control." She got out of his embrace and walked into the bathroom. She started wiping off the makeup she used to cover her markings. Jareth loved seeing her markings; they reminded him that she was truly his.

"It will come. We can practice it. You'll learn. You have powers now, Sarah. It's wonderful."

"What do I do if I end up somewhere scary?! If I hear about a war zone on the news and start thinking about it and poof I'm there?" Sarah asked, taking her clothes off and changing into pyjamas. Jareth watched as she changed, and she caught him looking. "Jareth! Stop staring at my ass and answer the question."

"Sorry love." He said sheepishly. "You won't. The amulet will stop you from making any impulsive decisions, it will serve almost as a guide for your magic. It's a clever little thing. You're probably limited to within the house at the moment."

"So I won't go flying off somewhere dangerous?"

"No, not quite. We all have to learn how to control our powers. Once we're Underground, you'll need lessons from a proper instructor. I know how to do these things but I don't know how to teach them."

"How will you know when I'm properly Fae?" Sarah asked. "If I have the markings and can do some tricks, is that enough?"

"Tricks? Sarah, you're becoming a near immortal being, not sawing someone in half."

"Well, is it enough?" Sarah pressed, and Jareth shook his head.

"No. You're not complete yet. I hope I can take you Underground after our human wedding though. I think you should be strong enough by then, at the rate you're going anyway." Sarah beamed at him; she had been anxious to go Underground for a while, feeling disconnected from Jareth the Goblin King. She would be Queen, and really she had little idea of what that would entail.

"I'd like that."

"And you still need to meet my parents." Jareth pointed out, though he was wary of letting his Father meet her. There was the smallest chance that if he didn't like her, he could order Jareth to call off the wedding. Sarah was wonderful, charming and smart, and Jareth hoped to the Heavens that that would be enough for his father.

* * *

"Father, I refuse to see how you can allow him this frivolity. He is neglecting his Kingdom, his subjects and his people." Juturna stood in front of her father, who sat on an elaborate golden throne. The High Court was entirely different to either the Goblin or Elf court; extravagance and excess surrounded them. She had traveled to the High City, the centre of the Underground. This was the land of Fae, the place where their kind had begun untold years before.

"Juturna, your brother has raised concerns to me that you are interfering with his life, and he fears by doing so you are questioning his position as King. Need I remind you that we had a discussion several hundred years ago regarding your actions? I shall not be so forgiving should you deign to act irrationally again. We are a family; other royalty may be at each others throats but we shall not be like them. To try and destroy one another is madness."

"Madness? Madness is allowing Jareth to marry a human! I have heard you have allowed the betrothal."

"I am curious how you know this, given that it has not yet been announced." The High King eyed his daughter, his face stern. "This has to stop, daughter. Jealousy is an unattractive trait in a woman. Your husband would do well to control you."

"I am not an animal for Aelfric to control! You may have married me off into a place where I am reviled, but I will not stop fighting. I will not stop until I have what is mine! I was the older twin, that thing between his legs that does all his thinking is the only reason that I am not ruler."

"Jareth may be a little promiscuous, but he has countless other qualities that make him fit to be ruler. He is level headed, logical. You are such a spiteful creature that you lack the skills needed to run the Labyrinth."

"I am ill equipped to run a hedge maze?" Juturna sneered at him.

"Thinking that the Labyrinth is a hedge maze is your first error. It is the source of our family's power, the lifeblood of our line. To belittle it is to belittle the High King. Jareth understands the Labyrinth, and the connection he has formed with it has made him more powerful than you could imagine. I tire of the same conversation year after year."

"I will take what is mine, Father." Juturna said firmly. "I will take what is mine."

And she was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm not going to lie, I'm struggling a bit at the moment. Is there anything in particular you would like to see or think is missing? I want to do the best job for you guys.**

 **Updates will be a bit slow this week as I am doing something super super exciting that means I won't have much time to write. Hoping it'll all be back to normal by Wednesday.**

 **Please leave a review!**


	13. Birthday Gifts

They lay in bed together, content in one anothers arms. Jareth had been so pleased at Sarah's progress that things had gotten a little carried away. They lay naked on top of the bed sheets, breathing heavily. Sarah felt calmer than she had done earlier, as though all her tension had been lifted from her.

"What was that with your mother earlier, Sarah? It was most peculiar. Linda was very upset." Jareth asked her, his fingers toying with the amulet dangling from her neck.

"I don't know." Sarah said quietly. "It was like I just couldn't stand it anymore, I just snapped. She didn't even do anything. I'll call her tomorrow, say sorry." Jareth looked at her, his face serious. She felt like a kid being told off by their teacher.

Jareth knew now why Sarah had acted so rashly; it must have been the effect of Juturna's magic. Linda was under a spell, he knew, but he couldn't break it yet. If he wanted to, he could free Linda with just a wave of his hand, but then Juturna would know that he knew. She had disguised her magic heavily, making it almost undetectable. He was unsure how she did this, but whatever she'd done wasn't powerful enough to fool him for long.

"You must control your temper. That could have been the reason you were suddenly able to move yourself. Emotions have a peculiar power over magic."

"Do emotions control your magic?" Sarah asked curiously; Jareth didn't seem the type to let feelings have power over him.

" _I_ control my magic, darling." He said firmly. "Emotion used to be something that I thought rather distracting. It's another Fae trait, we can be cold fish I suppose. Then you came along and changed all that. I am old enough and educated enough that I can block out my feelings. You're a young thing, a child really. This will all come in time, like learning to walk. Second nature."

"A child?" Sarah frowned. "Is that how people will see me?"

"You're a changeling, so it will be a little different. You look to be around five hundred years old, but your powers will be underdeveloped and your skills weak at first. I intend to keep you close to me, you would be an easy target. Like a baby bird fresh from the nest."

"An easy target for what?"

"All manner of things. Assassination, magical manipulation. Some foolish man might even try and make you fall in love with him. I would so hate to have to kill somebody early in our marriage." He said, grinning.

"They'd have a tough time doing that. Somehow, I've only got eyes for you." She smiled, reaching up to kiss him. "It's nearly been a year you know."

"I know. Next week, on your birthday. I remember our anniversary, as well as your day of birth. I believe that would make me something of a model boyfriend by human standards."

"Yes, well done for remembering one date." Sarah said, pretending to clap him. "I guess a year doesn't feel like much to you."

"No, it's like blinking. Though I have noticed time seems to be slower up here."

"You haven't reordered time again, have you?" She joked softly. "I hope it's been an enjoyable blink."

"The very best." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I hope to have several thousand years as your husband, Sarah. This first year has been incredibly special to me. You've changed me."

"I don't want to change you." Sarah said, stroking his arm. "I like you the way you are."

"I'm different around you. You make me feel calmer, like I might actually be a good person. It's most unsettling." He joked, and Sarah smiled. Something about him shifted; he suddenly seemed concerned. "I do think perhaps.." He tailed off, and Sarah looked up to see that he looked worried.

"What's wrong?" She asked, running her hand across his stomach absent mindedly.

"I am a little concerned that you will think differently of me when we are back at the Goblin City. Perhaps our relationship will change, you may not love me so much." He said, so quietly she almost struggled to hear him. Sarah was surprised that he would admit something like that. He never showed any vulnerability, any weakness; it was something that had always both intrigued and frustrated her.

"Why? How could I possibly love you less? I've seen you in the whole Goblin King persona, if I can love you after you repeatedly tried to kill me and kidnap my brother, what would change?"

"I suppose. I have certain ways that I am expected to behave, as both a King and a Fae male. In public I might have to be a little more reserved. I don't want you to think that my feelings have in any way lessened if that's the case. When you meet my parents, I might seem a little cooler. I can't explain why, it is the way we are. Well, most of us. My mother is the most affectionate woman you will ever meet, an anomaly among Fae. We are all about image and perception, the vain creatures we are."

"Oh really? I would never have guessed you were vain. You wear a new outfit every day, use more eyeliner than me and our house has more mirrors than a carnival fun house."

"They are portals to my world, Sarah." Jareth said defensively, and Sarah laughed.

"Of course they are, that's why I catch you staring into them twenty times a day."

"I like to look my best." He said lightly. "So you'll understand if I seem a little distant?"

"I guess. Just as long as we can still have moments like this." She said, kissing his bare chest. They spent so much time together that to lose it would be upsetting. Their relationship was based around much more than just sex, but it was an important part of it that they both thoroughly enjoyed.

"Oh yes, darling. Moments like this are what I live for." He kissed her fiercely, and she felt as though his love for her was burning her skin. How could she doubt that he loved her, when he could make her feel like this? When his love was the very thing that was changing her entire biology?

* * *

"Happy birthday darling."

Sarah groaned, still half asleep. "You too."

"I don't think birthdays work like that, love." Jareth chuckled, and Sarah opened one eye. He was wearing only trousers, and was holding her breakfast on a tray. Opening her eyes properly, she laughed when she saw that he had placed a candle in a piece of toast. He brought the tray nearer her, and she blew it out.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly twelve."

"You should have woken me."

"You looked peaceful." Jareth shrugged. He handed her a few envelopes and a parcel. "These came in the post for you."

"Thanks." She said happily, sitting up. She could see the parcel had an air mail stamp on it, so assumed that was from her dad. Ripping open the first envelope, she read the poem on the front of the card aloud.

"To a special daughter, who has brought me nothing but joy, it seems like only yesterday you were playing with your toys. Now a lady with a life of her own, it brings me happiness to see how you've grown. I wish you a life full of happiness and a world full of dreams, though nothing is ever as perfect as it seems."

Sarah stared at the card. "That got a little dark at the end. Maybe the person at Hallmark lost their rhyming dictionary. Anyway, nothing says "I'm a great mother" like a pre-written poem telling me my life might not turn out as great as I think it will. Happy birthday to me, hey?"

She opened it, reading the brief message her mother had written inside. Things were still a little tentative between them; Sarah had called to apologise, but she could tell Linda had been hurt by her words.

"I find the birthday card tradition most strange." Jareth said, taking the card from her and examining it. "A poem written by somebody else and sold by the millions doesn't exactly scream sentiment. Much like Valentine's Day."

"I know, but it's how we do things. I know you loved that heart shaped card I got you for Valentine's, no matter how much you try to deny it." She joked, tearing open another envelope. "When it's your birthday, I'll find you the tackiest 'husband' card I can find. I'm not sure they do "Happy Sweet Sixteenth Hundred" cards."

"A gap in the market." Jareth sat down on the bed, crossing his legs underneath him. "I shall relish any card from you declaring that I am your husband. We still need to book a venue, by the way. If we are getting married when you want to, we have less than two months."

"I know, I know. Maybe it was too soon. I've just been so busy at work." Sarah had been assigned a new project that was taking most of her time up. She was hoping they could get a slot at a registry office, but still hadn't called them. If they had to change the day, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

"I can sort most things, Sarah, but it would be best if we actually booked somewhere rather than just using magic to make it happen." Jareth told her, and Sarah frowned.

"Why? You use magic for everything else." She pointed out, not entirely unreasonably.

"It might seem a little odd if the person marrying us has no idea what's going on once the spell breaks. Who's that one from?" The card Sarah had just opened sat unread in her lap. She glanced at the front, a nondescript illustration of a courtyard with some fountain in it, and opened it. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Judith." She tossed the card away, and Jareth caught it. "Just toss it in the trash."

"I'll look at it first." He said lightly. Sarah shrugged and opened the next card. Jareth looked at the picture carefully; a fountain. His sister really was unsubtle; she was named after the Roman Goddess, who had been a friend of their mother's. She had written on the inside using green ink, which Jareth knew was made using plants and commonly used by the Elves. Jareth could see by the roughness of the letters that she had used a feather quill.

Honestly, she was so conspicuous she may as well have signed the damn thing Juturna. Did she honestly think that her brother wouldn't recognize her handwriting? Perhaps she was cleverer than he gave her credit for, and the whole thing was a game, lulling him into believing he had the upper hand. He could sense no magic within it, so it wasn't enchanted in any way. How odd that she would go to the trouble of sending Sarah a birthday card with no ulterior motive. Jareth waved his hand over the card and it vanished; sent to the Underground where he could examine it properly later.

"Aunt Helen sends her regards." Sarah said, placing a card with a kitten on the front on the table beside their bed.

"Who's Aunt Helen?" Jareth asked; Sarah had so many relatives he was losing track. His own family was small, and the tangled web of aunts and uncles confused him greatly.

"My aunt. Her name is Helen."

"Oh of course. I feel so much more enlightened now."

"I wonder what's in this box. It's pretty heavy." She struggled a little with the tape sealing it closed, and Jareth simply touched it, making it vanish. "Um, thanks." She opened the box, throwing aside the tissue paper. There were several wrapped gifts; Sarah wondered if her dad was making up for their estrangement with a little old fashioned overcompensation.

Opening the card, she saw it was handmade by Toby. It made her frown; he had drawn the Labyrinth, complete with Goblins and a little drawing of a man that looked like Jareth, dressed in black. A little disturbing. Jareth laughed.

"My thighs aren't that big." He said in mock outrage, and Sarah threw a piece of tissue paper at him. "What?"

"Why is he drawing the Labyrinth? He didn't even see it." Sarah asked him; Jareth had always reassured her that Toby had been kept safe in the castle.

"I don't know." Jareth shrugged and Sarah tutted at him.

"I'm not happy he still remembers it. He was such a tiny baby."

"Sarah, I promise you it's harmless. I think it's funny."

"I know you do." She said crossly. "I don't think it's funny. I still feel awful about wishing him away."

"If you hadn't have wished him away, we would never have met. It was fate, precious. Besides, he was well taken care of. I even sang him a song."

"A song?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I hope it was cheerier than the ones you sang to me."

"It was, I assure you. He enjoyed it."

"Hmm." She began to open the gifts; Toby had sent her a beaded bracelet he made for her, all pinks and purples. It was sweet, and she slipped it on her wrist straight away. She pulled out another bundle and frowned. "Apparently, this one is for you."

"For me?" Jareth took it, and when he unwrapped it, he laughed. He lifted it up to show Sarah.

"He sent you a Ninja Turtle?" Sarah asked, looking confused. "Why did he send you that?"

"This was his favourite one, I remember him telling me. Michelangelo, this one's called." Jareth told her, turning over the toy in his hands examining it carefully. Sarah laughed; it was funny how a gift from a seven year old could make even a King feel like a small boy again.

"Well, if you're good I'll let you play with it for ten minutes a day." Sarah replied sarcastically, finding it sweet that Toby liked Jareth enough to give him his favourite toy. Every time she called home, Toby would ask about Jareth excitedly, and they had spoken a few times.

She opened the rest of her gifts; a new cardigan from Irene that looked like something a grandma would wear, a book on how to plan the perfect wedding (Sarah was so behind that she was actually a little grateful for that particular gift) and a beautiful, leather bound diary.

"Wow, that's so beautiful. Those were nice gifts."

"Get dressed and I'll give you my gift." Jareth said, moving to get off the bed. Sarah shook her head, grabbing at his arm. He looked at her in amusement.

"Maybe I want a gift that involves wearing nothing at all." Sarah said, pouncing on him.

* * *

"This is incredible." Sarah breathed, staring out over the water. "I can't believe you brought me here."

"I thought it would be rather nice. I've always considered Venice to be the most romantic city."

"I hope this isn't the place you bring all your dates." Sarah said, and Jareth laughed.

"Just you. I've been here before, of course, but alone."

"Good. There's nothing as unromantic as a man who takes all his women to the same place."

"All of 'my' women? Sarah, I'm not a pimp. Can we change the subject? It's taking a turn that is distracting from my intention."

"What is your intention?" She asked wryly. They had been in the city for hours, walking around and seeing the sights. Sarah had never been to Italy before, and Jareth was excited to show her all the sights. Although he had spent most of his time in London, he had been there before - though things had rather changed in four hundred years.

"I need to give you your gift?"

"This isn't my gift?" Sarah asked, looking at him carefully. "I think bringing me to Venice is a pretty good gift. Are we going to end up on a different bridge on October 25th every year?" She asked jokingly. They were in a forgotten backstreet, away from tourists, on a tiny bridge that looked as if it might collapse at any second. The sun was beginning to set, and the water shone as though it was on fire. It was perfect.

"Perhaps. I'll have to find the perfect bridge Underground for your next birthday."

"Next birthday? That soon?" Sarah asked with a smile. It was reassuring to know that her transformation would be complete that soon; she hadn't told Jareth, but she was feeling exhausted again. "I expect a nice bridge, then. If I'm Fae, won't I only have a birthday every hundred years, like you?"

"I'd like to celebrate your birthday every year. I don't want you to have to give everything you know up just because things have changed a little." He told her, and she smiled.

"Thanks. That's sweet."

"I can be sweet when I want to be." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly. "I love you."

"I love you." She smiled, turning back out to the water. Jareth moved next to her. She looked so happy, so content and he still couldn't believe that he was the one who helped her to feel this way.

"I need to give you your gift." He whispered into her ear, and she turned to face him. She covered her mouth in surprise when she saw that he was one on knee, again, holding a beautiful ring out to her.

"I know the last ring caused some issues." He said, smiling. "So I thought I should get you another. Will you marry me?" She pulled him to his feet, and kissed him deeply.

"You are so thoughtful." She said into his mouth as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She looked down at it; a simple gold band with an enormous diamond sparkled in the sunset. "This is too much."

"Nonsense. You can't be engaged without a ring, and I thought this was rather beautiful. Not as beautiful as the one I designed," he said smugly, "but beautiful for a mortal ring."

"Thank you." Sarah smiled, holding it up to the light. "I love it. When I can, I'll wear the other one. You know that."

"Of course. Happy birthday my love."

* * *

 **A/N: I had a few requests for more romance, so there's a nice romantic chapter for everyone. I won't be updating tomorrow, so wanted to get this up before I left home. Please review!  
**


	14. Meeting The Parents

"You doing anything for Halloween tomorrow?" Sarah asked her colleague as they stood waiting for the photocopier to finish.

"No." Alison shuddered. "The kids want to go trick or treating, but it's too American to stand. Sorry." She apologised to Sarah, the only American she knew.

"No problem." Sarah laughed - Halloween hadn't quite caught on in England, with few parents taking their children out to trick or treat. Sarah had noticed it last year, and it had made her miss home. Toby had already told her he was dressing as Michelangelo, of course. "It's fun though, you should try it."

"Maybe next year. What about you? Any costume parties?"

"No, nothing like that. Maybe a scary movie at home with Jareth."

"Oh to be young and in love watching films together. I'm lucky if I can get Alan to look up from the footy long enough to notice I exist."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Sarah laughed. "Jareth gets engrossed in things too, he's not perfect."

"He looks pretty perfect to me." Alison joked, and Sarah smiled. Jareth had thoroughly charmed every woman in that office, and they were not so quietly jealous of Sarah.

"Trust me, he has his faults." Sarah grabbed her papers from the copier. "Anyway I better get back to it!" Alison waved goodbye, loading the copier again.

As she sat down at her desk, her phone began to ring.

"Hello, Sarah Williams speaking?"

"Hello Sarah Williams speaking." Jareth laughed down the phone. "This is Jareth King speaking."

"Everything okay?"

"Wonderful. I've just received a command from my father."

"A command?" Sarah asked, frowning. "A command for what?"

"They have insisted on meeting you. Tomorrow night, in fact."

"Tomorrow night?" Sarah asked in a squeak. "That doesn't give me much time."

"Nonsense. It is Hallow's Eve, the night that the veil between our worlds lifts. They could come any night of course, but my father does so love a bit of dramatic flair."

"Like father like son. Jareth, it seems a little sudden."

"My mother can hardly contain herself, I've been told. My father has had enough of my excuses and has told me it must be tomorrow." He sounded a little irritated. "If it's truly a problem precious.."

"No. No, it's fine. It has to happen sometime right?" Sarah giggled nervously, trying to sound more relaxed than she actually was. "What do I need to wear?" She asked with a panic.

"I have had something made for you."

"You have?" Sarah asked, not sure whether or not to feel pleased or offended that he didn't trust her to dress herself.

"Even though we will be Above, it would be improper for you to wear men's clothes or garments that expose your knees or flesh. I had the dress commissioned as soon as we were engaged, I knew he'd want to meet you."

"Right." Sarah said warily. "And they're not men's clothes. They're called jeans."

"I know, I'm just preparing you for what my parents are like. I'll let you get back to work now, precious. Your boss is about to come out of his office and talk to you about using the phone for personal calls."

"Stop watching me in those damn things!" She hissed down the phone, looking around to see that her boss was indeed walking towards her. "Damn it. Bye!" She hastily slammed the phone down and tried to look busy.

* * *

"So how do I address them?" Sarah sat cross legged on the sofa, holding a steaming cup of tea. It had been pouring down outside, and even Jareth's quick transportation method hadn't been enough to stop her from getting soaked. That was a couple hours ago, and she was still cold.

"A tricky question." Jareth mused. He was sitting in the arm chair across from her, his nose in a book. "I've never introduced them to a human before. Perhaps allow them to lead the way."

"Do I need to curtsy?" Jareth didn't look up from his reading, but he shrugged.

"Yes, unfortunately. Even I have to bow to my father. He is the High King, and you are close enough to being a Fae that you are his subject."

"What if they don't like me?" Sarah fretted, and Jareth finally put his book down and went to comfort her. "I've never even met a boyfriend's parents before and all of a sudden I have to meet royalty?"

"You'll be fine, sweetness. Just be yourself and they'll love you exactly as I do. Well, perhaps not _exactly_ as I do." He buried his face in her neck, kissing the delicate skin behind her ear. She shuddered with pleasure, then pushed him away.

"There's no time for that!" She told him, and he looked at her like a wounded puppy. "I need to know exactly what to do. What to say, how to sit, how to stand."

"You need a lesson in how to stand?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what I mean." She said crossly. "I feel like this has just been sprung on me from nowhere."

"There's really no cause for such concern precious. My mother is a pussycat, she will love you on sight. My father may be a King, but he is a family man. He really is a rare specimen among us, most Fae would snap their baby's neck for a chance of more power."

"Am I going to be like that?" She asked in alarm.

"No. You're far too kind as a human to be changed so much. My point is that my Father, should he like you, will welcome you into our family. You will have his protection, I am sure of it."

"Protection?" She asked, looking confused. "Do I need protection?"

Jareth wanted her to win his father over so there would be more chance of him taking radical action against Juturna should anything happen, but he couldn't exactly tell her that, not if his plan was going to work.

"It's never a bad thing to have an extra person looking out for you." He said lightly. "Especially the King of the Underground."

"I guess." Sarah said, putting her tea down and lying back. She stretched out, yawning. "I'm tired again." She said, feeling like she could fall asleep for thirty years.

"Can I check you?" Jareth asked, moving his hand to her chest.

"No, no." She swatted his hand away. "I'm fine. It's Friday night, I've had a tough week. I'm allowed to be tired." She said defensively, and Jareth narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sarah." He said, his voice sounding stern. "Please."

"No. I'm fine. You're worrying too much. Can you take me to bed? I'll feel better in the morning. And don't check up on my magic when I'm sleeping, I'll know." She warned him, and he relented.

"Fine."

* * *

"This is gorgeous." Sarah stared at her reflection in the mirror, hardly believing it was her staring back. The dim afternoon light flooded in through the windows. Jareth had just returned from Underground, the dress in a box. Sarah had squealed when she opened it, reminded of her teenage love of Medieval costumes. "I can't believe you had this made for me."

"It was nothing." Jareth stood behind her, lacing her into her corset. Usually, a maid would do such a thing but Jareth thought it was rather enjoyable to do it himself. He couldn't wait to unlace her later that night, that would be even more enjoyable. Sarah squeaked as he pulled the strings. "I won't tie it tightly. You need it for the shape of the dress."

"I don't understand why you all have to dress like this." She said, leaning against the mirror to steady herself. "Doesn't it hurt the women?"

"No. In fact, it's somewhat of a competition within Fae society to see how small they can make their waists. Vulgar, if you ask me. There." He stepped back with a satisfied grin.

Sarah examined her reflection again. Jareth had presented her that morning with a billowing dress made of silk so fine she was scared of spoiling it. It was sleeker than she had expected, and was Tudor in appearance. The neckline was square, just low enough so her amulet could lie comfortably without showing her cleavage. The material was a rich green; Jareth had debated long and hard over the colour choice - purple was too regal, black too mournful, red too suggestive, white too virginal for someone who had clearly been marked.

"What do you think? How do I look?" She asked nervously, giving him a twirl. The sight of her in his people's clothes, with her markings visible and her amulet on show, made him happier than he thought possible.

"You look like a Fae." He turned her to face him, and ran his eyes over her, letting his thumb stroke the corner of her eyebrow. "You are so beautiful. I don't deserve you." He whispered, and she kissed him gently.

"Deserve me? It's not about deserving anything. We love each other. It doesn't matter if I'm human or not, if you're a King or not. None of this matters." She gestured to her dress, and then to him. He was wearing formal clothes; an inky blue shirt (though she noticed he still managed to be exposing a decent amount of chest), tight trousers as always, and a long cloak that seemed to flow like water, shimmering in the light.

He crashed his lips onto hers, kissing her deeply. They stayed like that for a few minutes, not moving away from one another. After a while, and just as Sarah's hand was snaking down from his chest, Jareth pulled away, and Sarah frowned at him.

"Love, I've just put you into that dress. As much as I would like to tear it off you, we haven't long till my parents get here and we still need to go through some things."

"I can't believe we're just having your parents here. Is it not a little-" Sarah struggled to find the right word. "Normal? Just having your parents over for dinner in our house but we're all dressed like this? I'll look a little weird standing in our kitchen like this."

"I've made some changes." He said simply, moving to put his boots on. "It won't look quite as you're used to. Oh, there will be goblins here tonight too. I've decided to allow them in to the house, just a couple, to serve us dinner."

"They better not break anything. I'm still trying to find the last piece of that vase they broke playing hide and seek last time."

"They will be on their best behavior. I may not frighten the little cretins, but my father most certainly does." He laughed, standing up. "Are you ready?"

"I'm not sure." Sarah once again looked in the mirror, squinting as she examined her face. "Do I need more makeup?"

"No." Jareth said lightly. "You look beautiful. Your markings are exquisite, it's nice to see them properly instead of being covered up with all that gunk."

"I need to wear makeup over them in the day unless I want to look like I'm celebrating Halloween every day of the year. Okay, I think I'm ready. When will they be here?"

"In around an hour? Come, let me show you what I've done." He took her downstairs, and she gasped at the sight of their dining room. They rarely used it, and Sarah had almost forgotten it existed.

The lights were turned off, and instead dozens of candles flickered in black candelabras. The wooden table that usually sat in the middle was gone, replaced by a long stone one. It was set for four, with two chairs at either end. The middle looked rather empty, and Sarah assumed that was where she and Jareth's mother would sit. She felt a little nauseous, her nerves overwhelming her.

"Excuse me." She ran to the downstairs bathroom, throwing up in the sink. She wiped her mouth, and panted heavily. She stared into the mirror, trying to calm herself. She was so scared she felt as though she might pass out. If they didn't like her, everything could go wrong.

"Sarah?" Jareth asked from outside the door. "Sarah, what's the matter?"

"I'm sorry." She said, still trying to steady herself against the sink. "Give me a minute."

"Can I come in?" He asked softly, and she pulled the door open. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. He pressed a hand to her forehead, and frowned. "You're not sick."

"I'm not sick. I'm just nervous." She looked down, and saw that her hands were shaking. "I feel like I'm not going to be good enough."

"Sarah love, you're working yourself into a frenzy over nothing. It is only dinner, nothing more. If you're so worried, I could always cancel."

"No!" Sarah said, panicked. "You can't cancel because then it will look like I made you cancel."

"I don't want you to be so nervous you're physically ill, Sarah. That is absurd."

"I can't help it." She said quietly, feeling stung. "I'm only human."

"No, you're not. You're so much more than that. Just try and relax. My parents are kind people, they only wish to get to know you."

"Okay." Sarah said weakly. "I'll just have to trust you."

"Don't you always, precious? Come, let's get you some wine."

"That's not the answer to everything."

"Isn't it?"

* * *

"Are you feeling better?" Jareth asked Sarah as she fixed her hair for the hundredth time.

"A little. When will they be here? Wait, _how_ will they be here? Are they just going to appear in front of us?"

"We arranged that they would use the mirror in the hallway. They will be here in around," Jareth paused to look at the clock, which showed the Underground time of almost midnight. The timing of the clock always changed, and Sarah could never be sure if the Underground time would match up to Above. "Three minutes."

"Three minutes?" Sarah asked. "That's awfully precise."

"My father is punctual to a fault. It's only because I placed a block on the mirror that he isn't here already. It will only allow him through at midnight their time."

"Alright. So do we wait by the mirror or what?"

"We may as well. Just relax, sweetness. It will all be fine." He stroked her hair softly, and she hit his hand away.

"Don't mess it up!" She said crossly, smoothing her hair back into place. "Oh my God I just feel so sick."

"You'll be fine. I have complete confidence in you, darling. I just wish you had some in yourself. You are the bravest woman I have ever known, and you're terrified of meeting my parents."

"It's ridiculous isn't it? Okay, we better go and wait by our magic mirror for your parents to come through it." She said dryly, and Jareth laughed.

As they waited in the hallway, Sarah nibbled her thumb. Jareth put his hand on her arm and shook his head. She stopped chewing, and he touched the broken skin by her nail, healing it straight away.

"It's time." He said, as somewhere in the house a clock chimed twelve. Sarah stood behind Jareth, taking a deep breath. After a moment, the mirror contained the image of two people who, combined, looked just like their son. Sarah took a deep breath, and watched as they stepped through the glass as though it was nothing.

"Mother. Father." Jareth walked over to them, and Sarah watched as he gave a brief bow to his father, and embraced his mother tightly. She smiled watching them; it was strange to see Jareth with his parents, and she could tell he was very much on his best behaviour. "Thank you for coming. This is Sarah." He reached out a hand for her and pulled her forward a little. She dipped down awkwardly, not sure what to do.

"Your Majesties." She said quietly, feeling like she was about to die. "It's lovely to finally meet you."

"None of this "Your Majesty" business. I understand we are to be family soon, you must call me Arethusa!" Jareth's mother walked over to her and gave her a fierce hug, and Sarah patted her back lightly, looking a little surprised. "Oh, you were right Jareth. She is so beautiful. Let me look at you." The older woman stepped back, and Sarah felt as though she was a race horse being appraised.

"Sarah," Jareth's father boomed, shaking her hand. "It is wonderful to meet you. Jareth has told us much about you."

"Her markings sparkle like a newborn's." Arethusa said, and Sarah shifted uncomfortably under her close gaze. "How wonderful!" Jareth had told her that the Fae were cold creatures, but this woman couldn't have been any nicer. Sarah was reminded of a stereotypical grandmother; she half expected her to bake cookies at any moment.

"Well, I suppose she is a newborn." Jareth said smoothly. "She is making exceptional progress."

"I'm really not." Sarah said, embarassed. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"It will come with time, youngling." Hefeyd told her. "You have great power within you. I can sense it."

* * *

"So tell me Sarah, what is your occupation? I understand women are permitted to work Above." Jareth's mother asked, as they sat in the living room. Sarah felt ridiculous sitting on her sofa in the enormous dress, but she tried to smile and hide her unease.

"Um, yeah, I mean, yes, they do. I work in publishing, I edit books."

"Oh how wonderful! I love to read. We have quite the library." Arethusa told her happily. "What kind of books?"

"Romance novels."

"Romance novels?" Arethusa asked, frowning.

"The Fae don't have romance novels." Jareth told Sarah, explaining his mother's confusion. "Most prefer to live it rather than merely read about it."

"Oh." Sarah said, well aware of the Fae's passion for lust. "I guess humans are a little more reserved when it comes to that. The novels are quite popular."

"I suppose when you and Jareth marry, you will cease working?"

"Yes. Jareth said I don't have to, but I want to spend my time learning how to be Queen and understanding the Kingdom. That will be my job."

"I understand you are familiar with the Kingdom already." His father said, narrowing his eyes. "Jareth informed me that you defeated the Labyrinth."

Sarah looked at Jareth for reassurance that it was alright to talk about what had happened, and Jareth nodded, taking a swig of wine.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Hefeyd, please. Tell me what happened."

"Um, I wished away my brother when I was a kid, then I went through the Labyrinth and won him back." Sarah said, still feeling a little uneasy talking about it. "That's all really."

"Perhaps Sarah does not wish to discuss what happened so many years ago." Jareth said firmly. "She is the Labyrinth's champion, the Kingdom will adore her. The little scamps have been visiting her for years anyway. I think they prefer her to me."

"They aren't frightened of me." Sarah replied with a smile.

"They aren't frightened of anyone, that's the problem with the beasts." Jareth's father said.

"Have you given any thought to when the wedding might be? There hasn't been a wedding since Juturna's, and she wouldn't allow me any part in planning that." Arethusa said sadly. Sarah was about to speak, but Jareth cut her off.

"There's no telling when our wedding will take place. It is entirely dependent on Sarah's transformation, but I assure you Mother that you may be involved in the planning."

"I would love your help." Sarah said, wondering why Jareth hadn't even mentioned their Above wedding. "I have no idea where I should start."

"There is such a lot to organise with a royal wedding. I remember our wedding, though of course it was thousands of years ago now. And then after the wedding, I hope you'll give me a grandchild or two."

"Mother." Jareth said warningly. Sarah looked a little embarrassed; she hadn't expected Jareth's mother to be so forward about the fact she wanted them to have children. "It will happen in time."

"You must take advantage of your humanity, Sarah. I so wish I could have had more children, though I am lucky to have Jareth and his sister. I just wish they could get along a little better." She said wistfully. "You mustn't waste any time, have as many as you are able to."

"Mother, this really isn't the place to be discussing this." Jareth said firmly, not wanting Sarah to feel like he was using her just to get her pregnant to satisfy his mother's maternal urges.

"It's alright." Sarah said awkwardly. "I would love us to have at least two children, but we'll just have to see what happens."

"Jareth, may I speak with you a moment?" His father asked, and they walked out into the hallway.

"Yes?"

"I had a visit from Juturna."

"So?"

"It was most concerning. She was distressed about your betrothal."

"How does she know about it? I have only told you and my most trusted advisors. I blocked her from watching Sarah."

"I do not know how she came to find out, but she has. I would advise you to be on your guard."

"Juturna is in hand, Father. If she dares to challenge me, she will find herself quite outmatched."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! Updates will be every couple of days I think as I don't have time to write at night at the moment. I'd love to hear from you!  
**


	15. Falling Apart

Jareth was not surprised Juturna had gone to their father - she couldn't keep anything to herself for long. Jareth knew exactly how she had found out about their engagement - hell, she had even sent a gift. Telling his father about her "Judith" disguise would ruin everything, and Jareth was determined to lure her into his trap.

"So, Sarah. Tell me about your family." Arethusa asked as two little goblins cleared away the dessert plates.

"Um, so I have a brother, Toby. He's seven now. He lives with my dad and stepmom in America. My parents divorced when I was young, and my mom lives here in London." She told Arethusa, wondering if she even knew anything about Above geography.

"Divorced?" Arethusa asked with a frown. "What does divorced mean?"

"We don't have divorce in the Underground." Jareth explained to her. His mother had only been Above once or twice in her entire life, so was unfamiliar with many human concepts. "It's when a marriage is dissolved, Mother."

"How dreadful." Arethusa said sadly. She was happily married, and couldn't imagine wishing not to be married at all. "That must have been terribly hard for you, dear."

"The Fae marry for life." Jareth explained to Sarah. "Though we do not place the same value in fidelity as humans do, which might explain why divorce doesn't exist."

"Oh." Sarah said. She had a niggling feeling in the back of her mind, wondering if Jareth meant himself in that 'we'. The thought of him being unfaithful to her made her feel physically ill. He looked at her, wondering why she looked so uneasy all of a sudden.

"How lovely to have a young brother. He must adore you." Arethusa said. Her husband was staying silent, and Jareth thought he was drinking far too much.

"I adore _him_. Well, now anyway. Not so much when he was a screaming baby. Obviously." She added uneasily, knowing that they all knew that she wished him away. "It's hard being away from him."

"I'm sure Jareth would take you to him whenever you desired." Arethusa said, looking confused.

"Oh, he would, but Above it takes hours to travel to America so it would be hard to explain how I can visit so often. I'm trying to keep things as normal as I can." Sarah explained.

"Eventually you will live Underground though?" Arethusa asked, sipping her wine delicately. She was so regal, even in this relaxed situation. Sarah didn't think she'd ever be like her. She felt clumsy in such fine clothes, uneasy about how to behave.

"Of course. As soon as Jareth says I can." Sarah said firmly.

"We will keep this house though, to come back to whenever she wishes. Sarah needs time to adjust, I have no desire for her to give up everything she has ever known." Jareth told his parents, and his father scoffed.

"And you are such a human lover, Jareth." His father said, slurring his words. Jareth glared at him. "It would be hard to keep you away from here for long."

"I enjoy the life I lead up here." He said simply, wondering where his father was going with his statement.

"You enjoy having human women as your playthings. You must have lost count by now. This one is the prettiest, by all accounts. She certainly has several redeemable qualities. One of which is that she was willing to open her legs for you in return for magical powers."

"Hefeyd! That is enough." Arethusa hissed at him, and Sarah sifted in her seat uncomfortably, as she noticed Jareth's father's gaze lower to her chest. His words stung her; she would never use Jareth just to become Fae. The very suggestion was ridiculous.

"Is it any secret that that boy can't keep it in his trousers for more than a day? Sarah will have to put a leash on him once they've been married a few years, or she'll never see him again. He'll find his next infatuation soon enough."

She was well aware that Jareth had had more than his fair share of lovers; for a start, he was so old that even if he'd slept with one woman a year since he reached maturity, the number would still be in four figures. However, she had no desire to hear his father make jokes about it. Judging by the furious look on Jareth's face, neither did he.

"Perhaps you should stop drinking, Father." Jareth said coldly, glaring at him from the other end of the table. "Before you get hurt."

"Is that a threat?" Hefeyd sat straighter in his chair, and Jareth looked at the old man witheringly.

"Merely an observation." He told him cooly, though he would have happily punched his father square in the nose at that moment.

"Boys, stop it!" Arethusa said, her voice sounding near hysterical. "Hefeyd, you are being incredibly rude. What must poor Sarah think?! I'm so sorry dear. He can't hold his drink. Go outside!" She hissed at her husband, who staggered from the table into the hallway.

Arethusa reached over to Jareth and rubbed his arm reassuringly, just as she had done when he was a child. He could see she looked uneasy, and he grabbed her hand. He was incredibly fond of his mother, and didn't like to see her upset. "I'm so sorry darling. We were having such a pleasant evening."

"It is no fault of yours, Mother. Perhaps I should have supplied human wine instead." Jareth said, regretting providing his father with strong goblin wine.

"We should leave, return Underground." Arethusa rose from her seat, and Jareth got up too. Sarah stood, not knowing if it was the correct etiquette to stay seated. "Sarah, it really has been a joy to meet you. Please ignore my husband, he's an ignorant old fool when he's had too much to drink."

"It was lovely to meet you, your Majesty. Thank you for coming." Sarah said, and Arethusa pulled her into a hug.

"Arethusa, please. You really are the most wonderful influence on Jareth." She told her sincerely. "I don't believe I have ever seen him more settled. Do not listen to my drunk old fool of a husband. I'm terribly sorry."

"It's fine." Sarah said, embarrassed. "I know he doesn't mean it."

"Sarah, go upstairs." Jareth instructed her firmly, and she bristled a little at his tone.

Suddenly, she was back in their bedroom. She still hadn't got the hang of controlling her emotions, though at least she was meant to have left the room. She felt unsettled by the evening; her future father-in-law had changed so suddenly, and his tone had been unpleasant. She felt ridiculous all of a sudden, trying to pretend to be like them. Really, she was just another of Jareth's play things, a pet project. Her name was not Eliza Doolittle.

The green dress she had loved so much now felt suffocating to her, but it was impossible to remove alone. She sat on the bed, trying to calm down, trying to think rationally. Thoughts were racing through her head at a hundred miles an hour, all of them questioning whether this was really happening, if Jareth would leave her, if becoming something so different to herself had been a rash and foolish decision.

She tried to lie down, but the corset was crushing her ribs, making it hard to breathe. She tried to reach around to her back, arms flailing behind her pathetically. She felt so frustrated she began to sob angrily.

"Precious? What's wrong?" Jareth appeared behind her, and she shook her head, unable to talk. She tried to get up, pointing to her back. "Let me undo you." He waved his hand over her back, and the corset ribbons came loose. He pulled down the dress, freeing her. She stood up and pulled it off, wanting to be free of it. She ran into the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water.

"Sarah, I am so sorry about my father. I have no idea why he was like that."

"I think it was the wine." Sarah mumbled, trying to calm down. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"Let me come in." Jareth said gently from outside.

"Why is it I always seem to be in bathrooms these days?" She said, opening the door for him. "Either crying or throwing up."

"I don't know precious. I really am sorry, I don't know how it descended into disaster so quickly. I thought it was all going rather well before that."

"Your mother was nice." Sarah said. "I'm sure your father can be nice too."

"I could have happily throttled him." Jareth said, pulling her to him. "I hope you don't believe what he was saying. I know I said that the Fae don't have an interest in fidelity, but I most certainly do. I would never touch another woman Sarah. After everything we went through to come to this point, I would never throw it away. You know that, precious, don't you?"

"I know. I know you wouldn't, but I feel a bit..unsettled." She told him, admitting what she had known for a while. "Like I'm not good enough. If I was pure Fae, your father would never have said those things. Implying I slept with you just to get power, is that what everyone will think? At our wedding, is everyone going to be sniggering because they know we slept together?"

"No." Jareth said. "Everyone sleeps with everyone, it's what we do."

"You didn't tell your parents that we're getting married up here, either." She pointed out. "Why?"

"I didn't want to." He said simply, and Sarah looked at him carefully.

"Do you not want them to know?" Sarah asked, confused as to why it was such a big secret.

"Not really." Jareth shrugged

"Why?" She pressed him, and Jareth sighed.

"If I told them, they would insist on coming. My mother would accidentally use magic in front of everyone, and my father is an oaf. Clearly."

"Is that the only reason?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Yes." Jareth said. "If there was another reason, I would tell you. I don't wish my parents to be at our wedding. I want it to be small, and about us. If they came, I would be worrying about what they were doing the entire time. My father is king, if he found out about it I would be powerless to stop him attending."

"Oh." Sarah said. "I didn't like the way you told me to go to my room. Like I was a little kid."

"I needed to speak with my father and I didn't wish you to hear."

"Still, I'm not a dog. Don't bark at me."

"If you were a dog, wouldn't you be barking at me?"

"Shut up, wise ass. You know what I mean."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. My father made me angry, it was incredibly disrespectful to speak like that in front of you. Anyone else and I would have punched them. Unfortunately, that isn't easy when your father's the High King."

"Awfully violent, aren't you?" Sarah asked jokingly, and Jareth grinned.

"I get very protective over you. It is instinct, rather than any real violent streak." Jareth reassured her, and Sarah felt a little dizzy suddenly.

"I don't feel well." She said, grabbing onto the sink. "I'm exhausted. Can I please just go to sleep and stop thinking about your father?"

"Of course. Here." Jareth lifted her off her feet and threw her over his shoulder, and despite still feeling awful, she threw her head back and laughed.

* * *

"You're sure you can't come tonight?" Sarah asked Jareth, watching him dress for the day. "My mom will be heartbroken you're not there to see her opening night."

"I can't. If I'm not there, this boxing match could turn into a full scale war."

"Why are they even having a boxing match?" Sarah asked, confused as to why a King would be referee anyway.

"They enjoy fighting and I decided that the fighting should be regulated, otherwise nothing gets done."

"And you're the man to do that."

"Yes." He shrugged. "I'll see you tonight. When will you be home?"

"I'll be going to the after party, Mom insists. It's at the theatre, if you change your mind and want to come. Your name will be on the door. Not that that matters."

"Thank you. I have no idea when I'll be home. Don't forget your keys. Say hello to Linda for me." He vanished.

"Um, you were meant to take me to work!" She called out, not knowing if he could hear her. He popped back in an instant.

"I was meant to take you to work, wasn't I?" He asked her, and she rolled her eyes.

"What's with you today? You're all on edge." She asked him, noticing that he could hardly keep still.

"I'm fine." Jareth said breezily. In truth, he was incredibly nervous. Tonight was the night he anticipated his plan would be seen through. Juturna was bound to go to that party, and he intended to trap her like a rat. "Let's go."

* * *

"Congratulations Mom." Sarah kissed her mother on the cheek, trying to stop her wine from spilling over as her mother hugged her fiercly. "It was great."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for coming." Things had been a little uneasy between them since Sarah's outburst a few weeks earlier.

"I wouldn't miss it." Sarah said sincerely; as much as her mother pissed her off, she still wanted to support her. "Is Jeremy here?"

"He's over there somewhere. I better go, they need me for an interview! Judith's around here somewhere, talk to her." Before Sarah could object, her mother disappeared into the crowd.

She stood on her own in the middle of the crowded room, drinking her wine and looking around for someone to talk to. She had met a few of the theatre types in the room before, but didn't know anyone well enough to talk to them. Taking a deep swig of wine, she spotted Jeremy in the corner and decided to just go talk to him. She hadn't seen him for several months - he was always nice enough to her, but the way he treated her mother was what irritated Sarah.

"Hello Jeremy."

"Sarah." He answered smoothly, not quite looking her in the eyes. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. You?"

"Well. I hear congratulations are in order." He said, gesturing to her hand that was wrapped around the wine glass. "Jareth not with you?"

"No, he couldn't make it."

"Pity." Jeremy and Jareth didn't get on at all; Sarah suspected it was because they both saw themselves as Alpha males and they struggled for dominance.

"He'll come and see the play next week." Sarah said easily. "So are you and Mom back on?"

"Yes." Jeremy said stiffly. "I thought she was divine tonight."

"She was very good. I think it might be my favourite play she's done." Sarah loathed making small talk, but it was better than standing alone until she could leave.

"Yes, the playwright is excellent. I myself am working on something with him that should be in the West End early next year."

"Great." Sarah said disinterestedly, looking around her. Jeremy really was the most self important man she knew, and she was already regretting talking to him. She couldn't leave so early into the party, but all she wanted to do was go home and get into bed.

"Do you know Judith?" Jeremy asked, and Sarah looked behind her to see Judith approach them. She grimaced internally, trying to look happy to see her.

"Hello Judith."

"Sarah. Not with your fiancé tonight?"

"He couldn't make it. We're not joined at the hip." Sarah replied snarkily. She noticed Judith was staring at her neck, and Sarah's hand covered the amulet instinctively.

"What an unusal necklace. May I see it?" Judith asked, looking at her strangely. Sarah lowered her hand. Judith reached out to touch it, and as her fingers touched the amulet, Sarah felt as though she had been shocked. Energy flowed through her arms, her veins burning.

"Look with your eyes, not with your hands." Sarah replied, feeling angry that this woman she didn't like would touch her like that. The amulet was hot against her chest, and Sarah wondered what had just happened. Nobody had touched the amulet besides her and Jareth, and she thought maybe it was the reaction to someone strange touching it.

"Excuse me for a moment." Judith said, and Sarah watched as she almost ran towards the exit. There were too many people blocking it, so she ran instead to the corirdor leading to the bathroom. She really was behaving strangely, Sarah thought.

She felt a familiar presence wash over her, and she looked around in surprise.

Jareth was here.

* * *

Juturna tried to run, but there were too many humans blocking the exit. Jareth had placed a block over the building, and her magic was useless. He was here, he was near her but she couldn't see him. As she ran to the fire exit, he appeared in front of her, grinning like a cat who had finally caught his prey. He moved towards her, and she stumbled backwards until she was pinned against the wall.

"Dearest sister. What a surprise to see you here." He said casually, and Juturna scrabbled desperately to leave.

"Let me go." She stuttered, and he simply laughed and shook his head.

"And spoil the family reunion? Nonsense. It is certainly an unexpected surprise to see you here. In fact, I think we should go somewhere else. Somewhere more private." He touched her shoulder, and they were in his castle.

"You've brought me to your castle? Don't play games, Jareth." She spat. "Release the block on my magic."

"No." Jareth said firmly. "What will you do? Escape back to your pathetic husband and hatch a better plan? Did you think I did not know about your scheme, that I did not sense you the very first time you dared come near Sarah?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, are you mad?"

"You touched her amulet. How dare you do such a thing?" He said, his voice dangerously low. "You know that we do not touch one another's amulets so carelessly. They are sacred. What were you trying to do?"

"Nothing." Juturna said stubbornly, still flailing trying to get out of his grasp.

"Oh come, Jut. Be a bit more sporting, give me something to work with. Let me guess, then. You were trying to take her power. That amulet is not so easily tampered with, I enchanted it myself. Or, you were trying to see how close she was to completion. Perhaps something else." Jareth said thoughtfully, and Juturna tried to shove him out of her way. He pinned her to the wall by her shoulder using only his magic, and she yelped with pain.

"You're insane! Obsessed with the idea that I want to harm your pathetic little experiment." She screeched, still struggling against an invisible force.

"Not obsessed. I am _aware_ that you want to harm her. You've been stalking her for months, enchanting Linda to get close to her. Tell me, Jut. What was in that cake? It made her sick, but nothing else. What was the use of it?"

"If you are so much wiser than me, surely you could work it out." Juturna hissed. "Jareth is so much smarter than Juturna, so much quicker, yet here you are begging me to tell you what I have done."

"Not begging. Inquiring. I will find out soon enough, perhaps father can make you talk. You really are foolish, going to him and giving away that you knew about Sarah. This is why you will always lose, Jut. You are far too impulsive."

Juturna said nothing.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out? Did nobody ever tell you that if you wish to kill, send someone to do it for you? You didn't even disguise your face. You did your best to cloak your magic, an impressive feat for you. How did you do it?"

"I did nothing!" She shouted, still struggling against the spell he had placed on her.

"It doesn't matter. I could imprison you here, but as I'm feeling generous, I'm taking you to Father." Jareth said, and Juturna raised an eyebrow at him. He moved closer to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, grabbing his wrist.

"Oh, are you?" Juturna asked innocently, her bony fingers squeezing his wrist hard. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"The last time you interfered with my love life, there was a rather unfortunate death. What a pity if there were another." He said calmly, shaking her grip and fiddling with his gloves nonchalantly. Juturna glared at him, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"You dare to threaten me?" She asked angrily. She reached to grab his amulet, an open sign of aggression and one that he couldn't ignore. He moved forward in a flash and grabbed her by the throat, his restraint snapping. Her feet dangled above the ground, and she made gurgled choking sounds as she gasped for breath.

"If I was a lesser man, I would strangle you right now, and laugh as the light left your eyes." He hissed into her ear as she flailed desperately for air. He released her, and she fell to the floor in a heap. "You violate Sarah's amulet and now you have the guts to try and touch mine? The power of my magic would destroy you, and I need you alive."

"I wouldn't be so concerned with me." She said hoarsely, struggling to her feet. "There is a bigger cause for concern. Your little human is going to need you."

"More games? Honestly, you are tiresome."

"Not a game. Summon a crystal, see your human." She taunted him, and he narrowed his eyes at her. She laughed. "Would you waste so much time? The clock is ticking, dear brother."

Jareth felt a spike of fear, and reluctantly waved his hand. As he stared into the crystal, he saw Sarah passed out, surrounded by people staring down at her. Linda was by her side, and someone behind the bar was calling an ambulance.

"What have you done?!" He roared, and Juturna smiled in a way that sent shivers down his spine.

"If you don't release me, she will die. Lift the block on my magic now, or your little toy will perish."

"This isn't real. You've done something to my crystals."

"Take me back Above. See for yourself."

Jareth eyed her warily, and then touched her shoulder. Within an instant, they were by the outside of the theatre. Jareth walked in to the foyer, and he could see that the room was quiet, though full of people. Sarah was nowhere to be seen, but Jareth saw Jeremy walk over to him.

"Where have you been?" Jeremy asked him angrily. "Sarah has taken a funny turn, she's gone to hospital with Linda in an ambulance."

"Which hospital?" Jareth asked desperately, knowing that whatever Juturna had done couldn't be treated by human doctors.

"Chelsea and Westminster."

"When did they leave?" Jareth asked in a panic.

"About an hour ago. Sarah thought you might be coming here, Linda told me to wait for you."

"I'll go right away. Thanks." Jareth walked back out into the street, where Juturna was waiting for him. She smiled, and he wanted to throttle her again. Time differences had meant that whilst it seemed like only minutes had passed, it had really been much longer, and that meant time was running out.

"I told you. Release me now or she will never make it." Juturna hissed.

"This isn't over." He spat out the words, waving his hand and breaking the block.

"Isn't it?" Juturna said, and with a last vicious smile, she vanished.

* * *

 **A/N: So that was an adventurous chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review!**


	16. Blue Lights

**A/N: Settle down with a cup of tea, you're going to need it..**

"Mom?" Sarah struggled to focus, but she could see the blurry outline of Linda's face staring over her. Everything felt as though it was moving, and she could see bright lights.

"Yes sweetheart?" Linda asked, brushing the hair out of Sarah's eyes.

"Am I going to die?" Sarah asked in a small voice, trying to grab her mother's hand. Her arms wouldn't move properly, they felt as though they were frozen.

"No. Not while I'm here, you're going to be just fine. You just fainted, you hit your head. We're taking you to hospital in an ambulance." Linda told Sarah in her most soothing voice.

"Where's Jareth? I need Jareth." She moaned, trying to get up. Linda pushed her gently back on to the stretcher.

"Jeremy's looking out for him, if he doesn't go to the theatre Jeremy will go to your house. We'll find him, darling."

"Mom, promise me whatever happens, don't let them take my necklace off." Sarah begged her, not knowing what would happen if the amulet was removed. She was terrified she was going to die, and for all she knew the amulet was the only thing keeping her safe and connected to Jareth.

"What? Sarah, you're not making any sense."

"Promise me!" Sarah shouted.

"I promise, I promise. You're going to be fine, sweetie. Just stay calm."

"It hurts Mom." Sarah groaned, her eyes fluttering back in her head.

"What does? Your head?" Linda asked in panic.

"My stomach. It really hurts."

"She says her stomach hurts." Linda told someone that Sarah couldn't see. "Is that normal?"

"We don't know what's wrong with her yet. I'll give her some oxygen to help with the pain, we can't give her anything stronger until we know exactly what's going on." The man placed a mask over Sarah's face, and she breathed in deeply.

The journey to the hospital was mercifully quick, and Sarah was wheeled in to the Accident and Emergency department.

"Female, 22, had an unexplained collapse. She was unconscious for around fifteen minutes which is why the ambulance was called. She has hypotension and an abnormal heart rhythm." The paramedic told the doctors, though Sarah barely heard a word that they said.

 _Where are you Jareth? I don't know what to do._

"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me? I'm Dr Jones, I'll be looking after you. I need to do a few tests, is that okay? Give my hand a little squeeze for me sweetheart." The doctor sounded kind, and when Sarah opened her eyes she could see the woman had long red hair, but nothing else. Sarah tried to move her hand, and managed a weak grip. "Excellent. Now, your mum's right here with you."

"Okay." Sarah said weakly, feeling awful. "Am I going to die?"

"No. You've just had a bit of a turn, we're going to hook you up to some machines and find out what's going on." Sarah could feel her top being pulled down and some sticky things being pushed onto her chest. "Luckily for you, you've caught us on a quiet night. We can rush everything through."

"Thank you, Doctor." Linda said, as Sarah struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I'm going to take some blood now Sarah, run a few tests. Is that alright?"

"Y-yeah." Sarah said weakly. "I can't see anything properly." She could feel a sharp sting in her arm as the doctor inserted a cannula.

"That's alright, it's normal. We're going to hook you up to some fluids, you might be dehydrated as well."

"My stomach hurts." Sarah said, trying to sit up. "Why does my stomach hurt?"

"We'll find out when the blood tests come back. We'll need to take a urine sample, but we'll do that when you feel a little stronger. I'll be back in a moment."

"Did you eat anything today?" Linda asked from the chair besides Sarah's bed.

"Yeah. I'm really tired. Can I go to sleep Mom?"

"Not yet, sweetie. You need to stay awake."

A nurse came from behind the curtain, holding a saline pouch.

"Hello Sarah. My name's Tim, I'm just going to put this up and get you feeling better, alright?" The nurse asked as he hooked the bag up and inserted a tube into Sarah's arm.

As the liquid slowly dripped into Sarah's body, she began to feel better. Her vision became less blurred, and she didn't feel as though everything was spinning around. The heart monitor kept a steady rhythm.

After a while, Tim came back into the room.

"Feeling better?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah, a bit." Sarah said.

"We just need you to give us a quick urine sample, I'm afraid. Do you feel okay to do that?"

"Um, yeah, I think so."

After undergoing the ordeal of hobbling to the bathroom connected to wires, Sarah lay back on the bed. She really didn't feel well; her stomach still hurt like crazy, and her head felt as though it was full of foam. Jareth still hadn't turned up, and they'd been here for nearly an hour.

"Have you felt like this before?" Linda asked her.

"No. I've been tired for a while but I just figured it was stress or something."

"You need to take better care of yourself. I'm going to have words with Jareth."

"It's not like he's in charge of me, Mom. I can take care of myself. I'm sure it's nothing, maybe I have appendicitis or something."

"Whatever it is, I just hope you get sorted soon. You looked awful, Sarah. I thought for a moment you were dead." Linda told her, hugging her again. Sarah patted her back awkwardly.

"Well, I'm not. I'm worried about Jareth, he's going to be scared stiff." She lay back down on the bed. "I should be home by now."

"Jeremy will tell him where we are, kiddo. He'll be here as soon as he can."

"Okay. I'm just going to rest for a bit, okay?" Sarah said, shutting her eyes. She must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing she knew, she was being gently shaken awake.

"Sarah? Sarah?" She opened her eyes and saw Dr Jones hovering over her. She looked around for her mother, but she was gone.

"Where's my mom?" She asked, stretching. She felt much better for the rest, even though it must have only been a few minutes.

"I've just asked her to step outside for a moment. Sorry to wake you, but I really need to speak with you. We've just had your results back."

* * *

Jareth appeared in an alleyway behind the hospital, and made his way to the A&E department. He went to the reception desk. It was late, and the waiting room was full of drunks.

"Good evening. I'm looking for my finacée, Sarah Williams? I understand she was brought here by ambulance."

"One moment sir, I'll check to see if you can go through." The recptionist picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers. Jareth waited impatiently whilst she asked if he was allowed to see her. At least she was here, he tried to tell himself, at least she was alive. "Follow me, you can come through."

The receptionist lead him through a series of blindingly bright corridors. He hated human hospitals, and right now he hated them more than he ever had. He had no idea what was wrong with Sarah, but if it was anything magical related she was in more danger being here. Finally the receptionist lead him to a busy ward, and he could see Linda.

"Jareth! Thank God! She's been asking for you, where have you been?!" Linda ran up to him, and Jareth felt even more guilty that he hadn't been there.

"I'm so sorry, I came as soon as I heard. Where is she? What's wrong?" Linda ssh'd him, trying to calm him down.

"She's in there with the doctor, you can't go in yet. She's awake and talking, they said she had low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Her stomach was hurting too." Linda told her, and Jareth frowned.

"Has she improved since she was first ill?" Jareth asked, knowing if she had been poisoned or cursed there would be no chance of improvement.

"Massively. At first she could hardly talk, now she can have proper conversations. They re hydrated her, I think that helped."

"How long has the doctor been in there?" Jareth was desperate to see her, to make sure she was really alright. He had never felt so scared, his heart beating so fast he could hardly keep track of it.

"About ten minutes." Linda told him. Just then, the door opened.

"How is she?" Jareth asked her straight away, and the doctor smiled reassuringly at him.

"You must be her fiancé. She's fine, you can go in and see her now. I'll be in in a while to run a few more tests."

"Thank you doctor. Jareth, I'll go home now, let you see her. Please call me with any news." Linda kissed him on the cheek and walked away.

Jareth took a deep breath and went into the room. Sarah looked shell shocked, staring at the wall with blank eyes.

"Sarah?" He rushed over to her, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Thank goodness you're alright, I'm so sorry I wasn't with you. What did the doctor say?"

"Jareth, I'm so sorry." He saw for the first time that she was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

"What?" He asked, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "You have nothing to be sorry for precious."

"It's my fault, I must have done something wrong, I don't know, but-"

"Sarah, you're not making any sense at all." Jareth said, stroking her hair and trying to calm her. "The doctor said you were fine, what's wrong?"

Sarah took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

"You're - you're pregnant." Jareth repeated blankly, his heart stopping for a moment.

"The doctor got my test results back and she says I must be around three months gone. I didn't notice, my periods didn't come but I just thought it was because I stopped taking the pill or maybe because I was becoming Fae. I don't even know if Fae have periods. I mean you said we were safe right?"

"We were. I cast that spell myself, there's no way it could have failed. I should have felt the energy of the baby." Jareth said, staring down at her stomach in disbelief.

"I wouldn't let you check me." Sarah said. "It's my fault, I was so stubborn and trying to be strong and pretend I was fine. If I'd have let you just check me, you could have sensed it before I got really ill. I'm going to die, our baby's going to die." She sobbed, and Jareth held her tightly.

He felt terrified, this situation taking him completely off guard. He had expected some kind of trickery, but this was entirely unexpected. How many signs had he missed, how obvious was it that she was pregnant when he thought back? The nausea, the arguments, the mood swings..it was all there in front of him, and he didn't see it.

"Neither of you are going to die. Do you hear me? I will not let you die." He said fiercly, into her ear, and she pulled back and looked him in the eyes.

"My stomach hurts so much, Jareth. They're going to do a scan to check everything is alright, but what if it isn't?"

"We need to wait. I don't know what to do." He confessed, not liking to feel utterly helpless. "The baby may look a little small according to their standards, so don't be alarmed. Fae gestation is longer than human."

"You said if I got pregnant I would never be able to carry the baby. It's been three months and this is the first problem I've had. Is that a good sign?" Sarah asked nervously, her hand resting on her stomach.

"I don't know. When we've left here, all being well, I'll bring my physician to you at home."

"Just tell me I'm not going to die. I can't die, we're meant to have our life together."

"We will have our life, Sarah. We will."

* * *

After around an hour of waiting nervously in the room in near silence, Dr Jones came in, wheeling a white machine. Sarah was lying on the bed, with Jareth sitting next to her, his hand firmly on her abdomen. He had been trying to sense the baby, but was having no luck. He hadn't told Sarah what he was doing, she just thought he was trying to ease her stomach ache.

"Hello again. Sarah, are you comfortable with your partner being in the room?"

"Yes, I want him here. Jareth, move your hand." She told him, and he dutifully removed it from her stomach.

"Okay, wonderful. This is our sonographer Daisy, she's going to be doing your scan today."

Daisy spent a few minutes setting up the machine, and sat next to Sarah.

"This might feel a little cold." She squeezed some jelly onto the scanner, then pressed it onto Sarah's belly. Sarah took a deep breath, her eyes glued to the screen. It was hard to believe that the blurry black and white image was her insides, just as it was hard to believe that three hours ago she had been watching her mom on stage and now she was finding out _she_ was going to be a mom.

And then, seemingly from nowhere, she saw her baby. She saw her baby, and she heard it's heartbeat echoing through the screen. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Oh my God." She said in awe, gripping Jareth's hand so hard he thought it might break. "Oh my God."

"Our baby." He said quietly, and Sarah tore her eyes away from the screen to look at him. He was staring at the image open mouthed, and Sarah saw a tear roll down his cheek.

"There's a strong heartbeat, which is what we like to hear." The doctor moved the scanner a little, and smiled. "I thought so."

Sarah was about to ask what she meant, when she noticed another white blob on the screen.

"Twins." She said breathlessly, beaming. Jareth blinked in shock; an hour ago he had no children, now he was going to have two. "I thought I was just getting fat." She said, and Jareth laughed.

"Amazing." He said, pressing a kiss to Sarah's head.

"Twins tend to run in the family. Is there a history?" The sonographer asked, and Sarah nodded.

"I'm a twin." Jareth said, not daring to move his eyes away.

"That explains it. This all looks very healthy. They're growing well, I'd say you're around fourteen weeks along. You'll need to be watched in your pregnancy, your heart has returned to a normal rhythm but your blood pressure is still a little lower than we'd like, and your bloods show that you're a anemic, so we'll need to give you iron tablets. I'll give you some painkillers for the stomach pain, it's nothing to be alarmed about as long as there's no bleeding." The doctor was busy scribbling something down on her note pad. "Twins tend to be high risk, so we'd want to monitor you anyway. I'll refer you to our team here, you should get a call tomorrow. You can go home now."

* * *

"I still don't understand how it happened." Sarah said as they lay on their bed, the clock next to her blinking 3AM. Jareth had insisted she get as much rest as possible; he had no idea what was going to happen - most records of pregnancy in changelings noted that they had already failed by this stage. Sarah was carrying two babies, and aside from the incident tonight and the fatigue, seemed to be in remarkably good health. Her magic was growing, and she looked well.

"Well Sarah, when a man and a woman love each other very much, the man puts his-"

"Not that, idiot. You said we were safe against pregnancy and you've managed to knock me up with twins."

"Knock you up? Very poetic. Those are my heirs you're talking about. The spell was still in place, I checked it regularly." Jareth said. He thought Juturna must have been behind it, but he couldn't work out how. The spell was impervious to other people's magic, and those herbs had been useless, Yeg had said so.

"I thought you'd be more upset. You made it seem like it would be a dire situation if I got pregnant." She said, looking down at her stomach. He lay beside her, curled on his side around her body.

"And normally it would be. You should be dead by now. But you aren't. They aren't." He drew circles lazily over her stomach with his finger. Her stomach was as it had always been, flat and soft, though now he looked properly he could see the slightest bit of swelling below her belly button.

"That's good right? Will I be able to carry them?" She asked, placing her hand over Jareth's. "You're tickling me."

"I hope so. Oh, I forgot to say at the hospital, you mustn't take those iron tablets they gave you. They _will_ kill you." He told her sternly.

"What?" Sarah asked with a frown. "How will they kill me?"

"Fae are incredibly sensitive to iron, if you introduce it into your body like that you will die of iron poisoning. Anaemia is just a side affect of your remaining humanity, it should pass in time."

"Am I almost Fae?" She asked, not for the first time. "If all these things are happening and I'm not dying, I'm getting stronger, does that mean I'm nearly there?"

"I suppose it does. There is one small problem."

"What?"

"We're going to have to get married before the babes are born. There will be all sorts of issues with legitimacy if we don't." Jareth told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Oh." Sarah said; she hadn't even thought of that. "When will I be able to go Underground? I don't want to have to be rolled down the aisle."

"We have months before the children are born; time moves differently Underground but I would expect you have around eight or nine Above months left, especially judging by your unchanged appearance. I anticipate being able to take you Underground very shortly, at least for a short time. Even if we could just get married quickly then return Above."

"I don't understand the timings the doctor gave me, then; how can they be big enough to be seen as six months away from being born? How am I going to explain it to the doctors when I haven't given birth in sixth months and the babies aren't ready? I'm so confused."

"Sarah, I'm not a doctor and I'm really not familiar with the intricacies of pregnancy. Can't we just put it down to magic?" He said tiredly.

"I guess." Sarah shrugged. "Though I'd like to see one of your doctors just for a clearer explanation."

"Of course. I'll have Yeg visit you, he'll know what to do. Sarah, I need to ask you something." Jareth said, stroking her hair.

"Yeah?" She asked, her eyes closing. She was still exhausted, and Jareth wanted to let her sleep but there was something he needed to know first.

"Did Judith touch your amulet tonight?" He asked softly, his hands stroking her stomach softly. Sarah looked at him, puzzled.

"Um, yeah, she did. It hurt." She told him, and Jareth sighed.

"Sarah, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"If I tell you, you need to promise to stay calm."

"If you've cheated on me I swear to-"

"No, nothing like that. I would be the stupidest man alive to cheat on you."

"Sorry." Sarah said sheepishly, knowing it was a ridiculous thing to accuse him of.

"Judith isn't who you think she is."

"What, she's not a huge bitch?" Sarah asked in fake surprise.

"No, not that part. That's accurate. Judith is my sister. Or rather, Juturna is my sister." He admitted, and Sarah's eyes opened widely, the shock written all over her face.

"Juturna? Juturna is Judith? How do you know?"

"That's why I took so long to get to the hospital, I was with Juturna. I caught her at the theatre, I was going to take her to my father, then I saw that you were ill and she forced me to release her or you would die."

"Has she done something to me?" She asked fearfully. Jareth didn't truly know the answer.

"I can't sense anything. I think she was just chancing her luck. Touching your amulet gave you a shock, that's what caused your heart rate to become erratic, like sticking your finger in a electrical socket. I was idiotic enough to fall for it, she knew I would never be able to resist going to you if I thought you were in danger. I had to let her go, who knows what she's telling Father. I tried to strangle her."

"What?!"

"I lost control. There aren't the same taboos about violence against women, we're fairly equally matched in strength and in situations like that it's pretty much attack or be attacked."

"Did you just see her tonight?" Sarah asked suspiciously, knowing he wasn't telling her the full story.

"I've known about it for months." He admitted. "Well, not properly. Remember when you had the flu? I showed you a picture of her and I and you told me it was Judith."

"I don't remember that. You should have told me."

"I couldn't. If I'd have told you, you would have reacted badly. I needed to know what she was planning."

"She gave me a cake." Sarah said slowly. "And then months ago, she was with Mom when she gave me that soup that made me feel sick."

"Soup? I don't remember you having soup." Jareth frowned; he hadn't realised it had been going on for that long.

"I told you about it." Sarah shrugged. She thought for a moment, and then looked at Jareth angrily. "Has she been poisoning me? Is my Mom going to be okay? You've just let Juturna do whatever she wants for all these months and you didn't _tell_ me?"

"I couldn't."

"Jareth, we're supposed to be a team, we're getting married soon, we're having twins for God's sake! You can't keep secrets like that."

"You would have asked me to break the enchantment-" Jareth argued, and Sarah interrupted him.

"Damn right I would! You can't expect me to be happy that you let my mother get close to that insane bitch?!" Her voice was raising in volume, and Jareth could see she was getting angry with him.

"I assure you, I knew she was safe." Jareth said, trying to calm her down. Sarah sat up, drawing her knees to her chest, one hand still over her stomach protectively.

"What if you'd done something to upset Juturna? She could have killed my mother just to spite you! I can't believe you would put her at risk like that. You selfish bastard!"

"I knew she was planning something Sarah and I had to let it run it's course!" Jareth tried to reason with her, and Sarah shook her head. "I am not selfish! I have done this all for you!"

"No! You are so obsessed with defeating your sister and punishing her for killing your girlfriend that you put Mom at risk! You should have told me about it at least. I don't like the idea that you were sneaking around behind my back, knowing that she was out there! What if she had poisoned me, I've been out for dinner with her and stuff!"

"I didn't know then." He said quietly, desperately trying to make her see his point of view. "I only knew after you had the flu."

"That was still weeks ago! You heard me talk about Judith and how my mom was hanging out with her and you didn't think to say "Hey Sarah, you know that judgemental bitch your mom loves? She's actually my evil twin and she probably wants to kill me, or you, or both us." No heads up, nothing."

"Sarah you're being ridiculous, I only did what I had to do." Jareth pressed, and she looked at him witheringly.

"I am not a pawn in your game, Jareth. Is that what our children are going to grow up like? Trying to poison each other and destroy everything the other one loves?"

"No, of course not." Jareth said bitterly. "They will love each other, just as we will love them."

"You said it yourself, the Fae are cold creatures. I didn't realise how cold." Her words stung him, and he looked at her desperately.

"Sarah, please, I'm not some unfeeling monster, I was doing this for you." He begged her to see his side, but she laughed mockingly.

"Were you? You're so obsessed with protecting me that you didn't even think to tell me what was really going on? I've been so tired, what if she's been poisoning me this whole time?"

"It's not poison. This is what she wanted." He said, it finally dawning on him. "She wanted you pregnant, thinking you would die and it would all be my fault for not casting the proper contraceptive spell."

"What?" Sarah asked, frowning.

"That cake was around three weeks ago, but that soup you're talking about, that was in the summer. Three months ago. She was giving you fertility herbs, Elvish potions that are more powerful than magic, that Yeg wouldn't know. Fertility treatments are handled by midwives, and not spoken about among the men." He said, realizing what should have been so obvious.

"What's the point in getting me pregnant if she wanted her son on the throne? It's backfired, now you'll have two heirs and her son will be further away from the throne than ever." Sarah said, not pleased that her womb was merely a pawn in the twisted game the siblings were playing.

"She didn't think it would fail. Your magic wasn't growing until she turned up, she sparked it. Then, it's sensed her malicious intent and grew stronger at a rapid rate. She's too stupid to know what would happen. She never paid attention to our lessons, never picked up a book."

"This all sounds very convenient." Sarah said with a raised eyebrow.

"My magic is within you, and Juturna's magic is linked with mine. I hate her, therefore your magic hates her. It's funny how it happens, but it clearly works."

"Why did she go after me? She wants her son to have your throne, she could have just killed you."

"Too obvious. I'm too strong for her, and any assassin she could find for that matter. I don't like to brag, darling, but I really am an exceptional man in all areas." He said with a teasing lilt in his voice, and she laughed.

"Of course, your Highness." She said sarcastically. "I'm sorry for calling you a bastard."

"I should have told you." He admitted. "I was just so determined that the plan should go ahead without interference that I put you in danger. That was wrong. I put you in danger, our children.."

"Our children." Sarah echoed. "That sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"It sounds perfect." He said, and he moved to rest his head against her stomach. "I can hardly believe it still."

"Are you happy?" She asked him nervously. This had all been so sudden, she felt as though everything had turned upside down. Their lives would be entirely different to the way they had planned; they had always wanted children, but now they would have two in under a year.

"Can't you tell, precious? I'm worried about you, but provided I can keep a close eye on you all, I'm blissfully happy." He said sincerely, pressing a kiss to her stomach.

"Good. You're going to be a father. I'm going to be a mother. That's so weird."

"Not weird, Sarah. Incredible."

* * *

 **A/N: Phew that was a big one! In a huge stroke of luck, I'd copy and pasted the 2000 words I'd written because FF was taking ages to save it this morning, then boom - the site crashed for hours. Luckily I could finish it otherwise the update would have been tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this one! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Did you guess?  
**


	17. Talking In Tongues

"Jareth? Where are you?" Sarah woke up, feeling disorientated and sick.

"You called?" Jareth asked, appearing in front of her carrying a cup of tea, which he handed to her. She took it gratefully, sipping it slowly. "Are you alright precious?"

"I don't feel good." She groaned. "I was just wondering where you were. I need to get up for work, I'm going to be late."

"You're not going to work Sarah. You were in hospital for hours, do you honestly think I'll allow you to go to work on four hours sleep?" Jareth said, sitting down on the bed.

"But I've had so much time off lately, they'll-" Sarah protested, and Jareth held up a hand to stop her.

"I've sorted it already, there's no use arguing with me. You need to rest. The babies will thank you for it."

"Babies." She said disbelievingly. "I still can't quite get my head around that."

"Well, you have a while yet. You need to rest, Juturna's magic will have exhausted you." He told her, taking the cup from her and making her lie down.

"I still don't understand how she made me pass out."

"It was an adverse reaction, but one intended to protect you rather than harm. The amulet was designed to protect you, as well as help your power to grow. It's a clever little thing, it certainly did it's job. Think of it as a circuit breaker, stopping you getting too much power. She could have done anything to your amulet, well, whatever she could manage anyway. It was warning you of danger, warning me too."

"What are you going to do to her?" Sarah asked warily, knowing that Jareth's wrath was something to be reckoned with.

"I don't know yet. I need to tread carefully; I made an attempt on her life trying to strangle her. If I'm not cautious about this whole thing she could declare war on my kingdom. We need to gather evidence. I can reverse the enchantment on your mother and take her memory of Judith and place it in a crystal, that will be a start. Then, get Yeg to say what those herbs were, should there be a trial."

"Who's Yeg?" Sarah asked. "You keep talking about him and I have no idea who he is." Jareth had never told her much about his friends Underground, and Sarah wondered if he even had any. Kings didn't tend to let many people close.

"He's my physician and adviser. I'm taking you to him later today, he can look you over properly. Those human doctors are all very well and good but they'd kill you by accident if I left you there."

"Taking me? You're letting me go Underground?" Sarah said in surprise, and Jareth shrugged.

"I thought we could try it. See how things go. I need to go and sort some things out and I'd prefer it if you were in my castle, behind thick walls and surrounded by guards. You're carrying precious cargo, after all." He said with a smile, rubbing Sarah's belly fondly.

"How will I react if I'm not ready?" Sarah asked gingerly

"You'll become weak, maybe a bit disorientated. I'll take you back before it's a problem, but I have a feeling you'll surprise me. You've certainly given me a bit of a shock already." He said with a smile, his hand on her stomach.

"It takes two to tango, mister. I didn't get pregnant on my own." She said, yanking his hands from her stomach to round her shoulders, so he fell on top of her.

"That's true. And didn't we have fun?" He said with a wicked grin.

"Too much fun, clearly." She said, kissing his neck.

"There's no such thing as too much fun. But not now precious, you need to rest." He rolled off her and she moaned in protest.

"Fine. You owe me though." She said, letting her hand slide down his chest. He caught it at the waistband of his trousers, and laughed.

"I'll make a note of it. The debt will be paid as soon as you're stronger. Rest now, I'm going to stay here until you feel better and then we'll go through the mirror, it will be easier on you."

"Okay." Sarah said, sipping her tea. "This tea's really good by the way."

"It's from Yeg. Good for morning sickness by all accounts."

"Have you told him already?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"I went Underground for five minutes or so whilst you were sleeping. He's doing some research into changeling pregnancies for me." He told her; Yeg had a vast medical library, and if anyone could find information, he could.

"That's good." Sarah yawned. "Is he Fae?"

"No, he's Elvish." Jareth told her, stroking her hair as her eyes began to close.

"So he won't be able to use magic on me?" She mumbled, turning onto her side.

"No. I don't want any other Fae to touch you, there's been enough interfering with Juturna. I think it would be best if you continued to have scans up here, just to check their progress. If there are any questions about their size, I'll use a crystal to make it seem like there isn't a problem."

"If you think that's best." Sarah said, her voice fading away.

"Sleep now, precious."

* * *

Sarah stood in front of the mirror, dressed in only underwear, turning side to side. She could see the tiniest bit of swelling that she had put down to eating too much bread. It was hard to believe there were two little lives in there. She was happy, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. It was all too good to be true; by all accounts she should be dead, but her she was, feeling relatively normal.

"Hello love." Jareth appeared behind her, and she jumped. "Don't stop on my account." He said with a laugh, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"I was just looking to see if I could see a bump yet." She told him as he rubbed her stomach again. He could hardly keep his hands off her midsection, and she was starting to feel like an old lamp with a genie hidden inside.

"You should start to show a little soon. We're going to need to decided what to tell your mother - you're going to be pregnant for longer than normal, so we need to work out the dates."

"I'll do some math later. I don't want to tell her yet, I want to wait until I'm further along. Something could still go wrong, you know."

"Words have power, Sarah. Use them with care." He said sternly.

"Sorry. This all seems like it's going too well." She said, and Jareth could see in the mirror that she was frowning.

"Love, try not to worry. It will just stress you, and them. Get dressed, we should go."

"Alright." Sarah said, pulling on some jeans and a loose fitting jumper. "Is this okay?"

"Fine." Jareth said, looking her up and down. "You look nice. Shall we go?"

"Okay." Sarah said, exhaling a shaky breath. "I'm nervous."

"Don't be. It's not an official visit, you'll just be in the castle."

"Alright then. Let's go."

Jareth waved his hand over the mirror, and put his leg through it. Sarah took his hand and followed him through it. They were in what she assumed to be his bedroom, and Sarah turned around just as he waved his hand to close the connection.

"What do you think?" He asked her with a smile. She turned to appraise the room, which was dark and somewhat dusty.

"I think I'll need to redecorate." She said lightly, teasing him.

"I have impeccable taste." He said, looking offended.

"It's a little.." Sarah struggled to find the right word. "Dingy?"

"Dingy?! I think it's rather regal. But as you wish, you may redecorate."

"Good. So come on, show me around." She said, eager to see the castle properly.

"I'll show you a few rooms, then you're going straight to Yeg. You need to take it easy, you know."

"I know, I know. I feel fine after that tea, it's fixed me right up."

"Good. Come, I'll show you the throne room, the gardens and the solarium. Then, you will rest."

"Yes Sir!" She gave him a little salute and he laughed.

"I prefer Your Majesty." He growled at her, pressing a kiss on her mouth.

* * *

"So this is your throne room? It's a little dirty." Sarah asked, looking around. "There are more feathers than I thought there would be."

"I let the goblins in. I find them amusing sometimes, and it would get a little lonely without them. So I pretty much allow them to do whatever they want as long as there's no fire or no flooding. I do have another room I use for diplomacy that they aren't allowed near."

"That's good, because I don't think many people would be scared of you surrounded by bits of chicken."

"I can be frightening though, don't you remember dearest?" He said smoothly, and Sarah was for a moment transported back in time to when she had first been in his world. He had frightened her a little, but she had been so determined to defeat him that it had only spurred her on. Now, he could never frighten her. She knew him so well, so intimately, that he felt like an extension of herself.

"I remember you had a lot of costume changes." Sarah said innocently, eyeing Jareth's leather jacket. "But frightening? I'm not so sure."

"Oh precious, you do so love to tease me." He said in a low voice in her ear. She shivered as he ran a finger down her neck. "Can I take you back to my bedroom yet?"

"Nuh uh, you said you were going to show me the garden. I want to see it."

"Fine." Jareth relented, and he touched her shoulder. Before she knew it, they were in the most incredible garden she'd ever seen. It stretched out for acres, full of strange trees and flowers she had never seen before.

"It's beautiful." She said breathlessly. "I didn't expect it to be so beautiful."

"It's left over from my mother's time here. She has rather a green thumb."

"I shall have to compliment her on it next time I see her."

"Oh Lord, what do they want now?" Jareth said, and Sarah turned to see what he was talking about. A little goblin wearing armour with a pointy beard was running towards them.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, you are asked to attend the High Court immediately."

"On what business?" Jareth demanded, and the goblin looked uneasy.

"The High King says that it is a matter of urgency."

"Fine. I will take Sarah to my chambers and then-"

"No, the orders asked for the lady to come too. They know she's here." The goblin ran off, and Ssarah frowned. Why would she be needed at court?

Jareth let out a strange noise, and Sarah was surprised to realise that he was screaming with frustration.

"Jareth, it's alright."

"It is not alright! Juturna has done something, mark my words. You are not dressed correctly for court." Jareth waved his hand, and Sarah looked down to see she was wearing the green dress she had worn when she had met Jareth's parents.

"It will be alright my love. Just stay calm, you needed to talk to your father anyway."

"I needed to speak with him privately, not in front of the court." Jareth said irritably. "We must go, my father doesn't like to be kept waiting. Just stay silent, Sarah, that's all I ask you."

"Silent. Got it."

* * *

"Presenting His Royal Highness Jareth, King of the Goblins."

Jareth strode down the long room to approach his father's throne. He offered a quick, insincere bow. Sarah stood near the doorway, watching nervously.

"What is the meaning of this Father?!" Jareth asked angrily. The court was full, idle spectators relishing in the idea of the arrogant Goblin King being taken down a peg or two

"We have had word from Juturna that you physically attacked her. Do you deny it?" Hefyed's voice was loud, and Sarah shrank back a little. Jareth showed no such fear.

"I do not deny it. I wrapped my hand around her throat, and I would have happily snapped it." He said easily, to shocked gasps from the other Fae in the room.

"Son, this is unacceptable behaviour." Hefeyd said sternly, and Jareth shrugged.

"Is it? I would say it's a perfectly reasonable move considering what that stupid woman has done. I can assure you, I acted in self defense. Father, send these pointless spectators away, I do not wish to have a trial by gossip."

"Fine. Court dismissed!" The Fae surrounding them vanished, and Sarah was left alone in the shadows.

"You would make an accusation against your sister?" The High King asked.

"Not an accusation. I would present you with the facts." Jareth said lazily, as though bored with this entire thing. It was strange for Sarah to see him in such a formal situation, and she kind of hoped that he would be a little more sincere. This all sounded very serious.

"Then do it." Hefeyd waved a hand, tired of being referee to his children's petty squabbles.

"Juturna has infiltrated my changeling companion's family, bewitching her mother and poisoning my betrothed with herbs designed to encourage fertility."

"What proof do you have of this?" The King asked with a raised eyebrow; it sounded absurd.

"I cast an incredibly powerful contraceptive spell, one that couldn't be tampered with. Yet I find myself on the path to fatherhood." Jareth told his father, who frowned deeply.

"Sarah is with child?" From nowhere, Jareth's mother appeared. "How wonderful!"

"Arethusa, this is a formal court. Not a time for female chit chat." Hefeyd chastised his wife, and she took her throne beside him. "'Thusa, perhaps this is not the best thing for you to hear." He said to her quietly, knowing how much it pained her to hear of her children's battles.

"I would hear what my daughter has done." She said firmly. "I have sent her a summons."

"Good. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with her. Last night, I found her in close proximity to my betrothed, Sarah. The first sign that Juturna has malicious intent towards her is that she attempted to touch Sarah's amulet, which she has only had for a matter of weeks and is incredibly sensitive."

"You're certain it was Juturna?" Arethusa asked nervously, unable to deny that touching an amulet was always an act of aggression. "Where is Sarah?"

"I'm here, Your Majesty." Sarah stepped out of the shadows. Jareth gestured for her to come forward.

"How do you know it was Juturna?" The Queen asked her, her voice softening.

"I don't for sure. I know her as a woman called Judith." Sarah said quietly, feeling very intimdated having to answer her future mother in law's questions. It was hard to feel on an equal footing when one of you was wearing gold and sitting on a throne, and the other was trying not to throw up.

"Judith? What a peculiar name."

"Yes, thank you Arethusa. I believe I was the one who called Jareth here, may I ask the questions?" Hefyed asked irritably, growing impatient. "How do you know your spell didn't simply fail?"

"Have you ever known a spell I cast to fail, Father? It was hardly my first contraceptive spell." Sarah bristled at this, and Jareth looked at her apologetically.

"Thank you Jareth, your mother and I don't need to hear about your sexual activities. You're certain Sarah is with child?"

"The human doctors have confirmed it. Not with child. Children."

"Not twins?!" Arethusa asked, practically jumping off her throne and running to embrace Sarah. If the Fae were cold people, Jareth's mother was certainly an exception to the rule. "Oh how wonderful!"

"Mother, do I need to remind you that Sarah is still an in between? Her life is at risk, something Juturna knows full well. Sarah seems to be closer to completion than I gave her credit for, but if this had happened any earlier, she would be dead. To me, Juturna's actions are a direct assasination attempt."

"Quite an accusation."

"One I will stand by through anything." Jareth told his father firmly.

They were interrupted by the court guard banging his staff against the floor.

"I present Her Highness Queen Juturna of the Eastern Elvish Kingdom."

Juturna stalked into the room like an angry cat, stomping her way inelegantly to the thrones of her parents. She curtsied deeply to them, and Jareth watched her with distaste. Sarah had shrunk behind him, and he shielded her.

"Mother. Father." She said, then her eyes flicked to Jareth. " _Brother_." She spat, as though his name was revolting to her.

"Dearest sister. I believe you know Sarah." Jareth moved out of the way, and Sarah looked at Juturna. It was Judith, certainly, though her hair was longer and was braided with leaves. Her dress was long, brown and close to her body - Sarah supposed this was the Elvish style. Her markings were just as Jareth had said - identical to Sarah's.

"I don't believe so."

Sarah frowned; Juturna wasn't speaking English, and she couldn't understand her.

"In the interest of transparency, I would ask that we speak in Sarah's language. We can all speak it, there's no need to block her out. Her power of tongues has not come yet."

"What are you saying?" Sarah hissed in his ear.

"The Fae have the power to talk in any language. Juturna is insisting on speaking in our own tongue, she is trying to block you out. It is quite pathetic." He said cooly, shooting his sister a withering glance.

"Fine. I do not know why you waste my time with this, I have a son to care for." Juturna said, speaking English now. Her voice retained that high class accent, snippy and clipped.

"I'm sure he'll learn to survive without you." Jareth told her and she glared at him.

"You dare threaten me! You attacked me, you should be the one punished!"

"If you recall sister, I only attacked you because you went to grab my amulet. Self defense is not a capital crime. Trying to kill my human lover, well, that may well just do it. You escaped last time, who would think you'd be so foolish to try the same trick twice?"

"Enough!" Hefyed roared, and both Juturna and Jareth stopped. "Sarah. Do you know this woman?"

"Yes. She is Judith."

"Arethusa, would you please touch Sarah?" Hefeyd asked in the Fae tongue, and his wife rose from her seat.

"Be careful, Mother." Jareth warned her, also in their own language. "She is in a vulnerable state."

"I will be gentle with her, Jareth. We need to know the truth."

"Jareth, what's going on?" Sarah asked, feeling isolated.

"My mother is going to touch you on the temples. She is an Empath, an exceptionally rare gift. Have you not wondered why she is so incredibly loving?" Jareth asked her, and Sarah shook her head.

"I just thought she was nice. What's an Empath?"

"She has an incredibly heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others. She can change them, manipulate them if she wishes to. But above all, she can see events connected to the emotions she can feel. It really is quite something. Sadly, she didn't pass it on. Although that may be for the better in that one's case." He gestured vaguely to Juturna, who glared at him furiously.

"I am, dear. Now, stay still. All this will do is allow me to sense your emotions, understand what you are feeling, the events will show themselves to me. You are quite safe." Her voice was soothing, but Sarah didn't feel any better that her future mother in law was about to look inside her head.

"Why?" Sarah asked, looking at Jareth nervously.

"She will be able to tell if you are lying. She can feel my emotions without touching me, and Juturna's because we are of her own body. She is gathering evidence."

"Evidence? For what?" Sarah asked dumbly.

"Juturna's trial."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! I really loved reading them, and I think it was pretty much split down the middle to who guessed and who didn't. To the person asking if I'm from a medical background - no, I'm not, I'm just a clumsy idiot who's ended up in A &E a few times!  
**

 **Please review!**


	18. Trials and Tribulations

Jareth's mother gently placed her hands on either side of Sarah's head.

"I'll try not to pry on anything too personal dear, but I assure you what I see of that nature will stay between us." She said with a friendly wink, and Sarah blushed as she realised what she meant.

"Um, thanks. Your Majesty." Sarah said, feeling a little odd.

"Mother." Jareth said warningly. "I suggest you stick to the last few months, or you'll never be able to look me in the eye again."

"Honestly brother, can you go five minutes without talking about your manhood?" Juturna spat at him in their language. "I know it does all your thinking, but at least try not to let it infiltrate your conversation as well. I have been standing here for minutes, and I still don't know what I am being accused of!"

"Juturna! Please try and speak in Sarah's tongue. I will not ask you again." Arethusa scolded her daughter. She turned to Sarah. "Please excuse my daughter's manners."

"Um, it's okay. I'm just a bit confused." Sarah admitted, feeling like a child in a room full of grown ups. They were all so grand and imposing, and sitting there in her jeans, she felt like a complete outsider.

"It's alright dear. We're just going to tell Juturna the accusation, and then I will commence." Arethusa gave Jareth a nod, and he listed off what he believed Juturna had done.

"You are being accused of using Elvish ways to induce pregnancy in my chosen mate whilst she is in the in between state, when you know that such an ordeal would likely kill her!" Jareth said angrily. "You are also accused of enchanting my beloved's human mother to do your bidding, knowing that Father made it illegal for you to interfere with humans over six hundred years ago. In addition to those charges, you are finally accused of touching Sarah's amulet, knowing that as an in between a sudden burst of your magic would shock her system and cause death. I have decided to waive the charge of threatening me and trying to grab my amulet. I am feeling kind." Jareth took a breath, then continued.

"As she is my betrothed, as agreed by our father the High King, she is for all intents and purposes your sister. Therefore, killing her would be soroicide. You may be a Queen and unable to commit treason, but you can still be tried for that crime."

"That is nonsense! Where is your proof?" Juturna screeched, and Jareth laughed coldly.

"The proof is that she _is_ pregnant." Jareth said, and for a second he could see Juturna react, a smile playing on her lips. Then, it was gone and the outraged expression had returned.

"And yet she stands here looking perfectly well to me. A little sallow, perhaps." Juturna said innocently, eyeing Sarah up and down. "But not dead. It is not my fault that you cannot contain yourself, Jareth."

"But it is _your_ fault that Sarah was given several items of food containing Elvish herbs, is it not?" Jareth shot back.

"Where is your _proof_ , Jareth? This is all a very convenient story, but one that lacks any true evidence." Juturna said easily, examining her hands. It was all an act, Jareth was sure of it. He would not be made to look a paranoid fool.

"We will have our evidence when Mother looks inside that twisted head of yours, I assure you. Did you honestly think I would never find out? Did you forget about Mother's skills?" He asked mockingly.

"I didn't think anything because I have done nothing!" She spat, no longer trying to speak English. "You are a bitter old fool who doesn't know how to stop pregnancy, and wishes to blame anyone but himself! If she dies, it is your own fault!"

"She will not die!" He roared at his sister, and Sarah stood in alarm. The language they spoke in was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and to see the man she loved talk so fluently, and so angrily, in a language so utterly foreign to her was astounding.

"Children! Please!" Arethusa shouted in desperation, and Sarah could see she looked physically pained by her children's argument. Of course, Sarah thought; she must be able to feel everything they feel.

"Please stop!" The queen begged, clutching at her chest. "You will exhaust me."

"Juturna, leave the room whilst your mother connects with Sarah. Guards!" Two guards accompanied the sullen Elf Queen from the room, and Jareth saw his mother relax. Juturna was such a bitter thing that the emotion pouring off her must have been draining all by itself.

Arethusa turned to Sarah, placing her hands once again on either side of her forehead.

"Just try and relax, young one. You will see what I see, it will be as if you are in a dream. If there's anything you do not wish me to look at, you must only think it, and I will brush it aside." Arethusa told her, and Sarah nodded in understanding.

"Okay. I trust you." She said, shooting Jareth one last glance. He nodded at her encouragingly, a tense looking smile on his lips.

"Then let us begin." Sarah saw Arethusa shut her eyes, and it was as though the world around them fell away. Sarah could see nothing, just darkness. "Just allow me to wander your mind." Arethusa's voice came from all around her.

Then, she could see pictures flashing before her eyes; there were hints of things she knew, like Jareth and her mother, but it was all blurred together at rapid speed.

"Calm your mind Sarah." Arethusa instructed her, and Sarah tried, but her heart was beating too fast.

"I can't." She thought desperately, and suddenly a new sense of calm washed over her. Arethusa was influencing her emotions, and Sarah wasn't sure if she liked it.

"You can. You are more powerful than you know, dear. Take a deep breath."

Sarah tried to steady her breathing. She could see flickering images of her life, as though someone was fast forwarding a VHS. Feelings ran through her at a rate that dizzied her, pure emotion that shifted like sand. Her father and mother, smiling together rather than at each other's throats. Tears as her mother left, a few years of just the two of them. Her father and Irene's wedding day. Then, Toby being born - and the Labyrinth. Sarah saw Jareth in his white cloak, then as an owl. Arethusa seemed to be lingering longer on what happened in the Labyrinth, though really it was such a small fraction of Sarah's memories. Sarah thought she was just being nosy.

Then, the images began to speed up again; her time as a student in London, the isolation she felt, that night she had spent in Jareth's company. The night she had fallen in love with him. Then, once Arethusa has skipped past the night they had been reunited on her birthday, Sarah was mortified to see a brief picture of her and Jareth wearing absolutely nothing, in a tangled heap. That was the night her transformation had begun.

"Don't look there. Please." Sarah thought, embarrassed to her very core.

The image swiftly vanished, and was replaced with the reason this whole thing was happening; Juturna, wearing Above clothes. She watched as Juturna tried to cross the threshold of their house; she hadn't noticed the way she had cowered backwards, and she could see now that whatever Jareth had done to the front door had terrified her. The pictures slowed down, and Sarah could see that Arethusa had found the memory of when Linda had brought "Judith" to dinner. Sarah felt the familiar sting of irritation as she watched Juturna make her snide comments, then as she fled when Jareth entered the restaurant. It all made sense now.

Time flipped forward, and Sarah saw Juturna at the theatre, reaching out to touch her amulet. It moved on quickly, and she saw the trip to the hospital, the babies on the screen, Jareth caressing her stomach. It made her smile all over again. Then, the images faded to black.

Sarah opened her eyes, and found herself on the floor, flopped against Jareth. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her, and when he saw she was awake, he kissed her gratefully.

"That was too much for her." Jareth said angrily, glaring at his parents. "She is coming to terms with being Underground, her body is under stress. This was foolish, Mother. The children are already exhausting her enough."

"I only did what I had to." Arethusa said, looking a little hurt at her son's suggestion that she would harm his partner. "I found what I need to know. I could see that love you have for one another is overwhelming. It is rather lovely to know that one of my children has truly found their soulmate."

"I could have told you that without you going into her head." Jareth said sullenly, still supporting Sarah. She couldn't get up, her body felt weak. She tried to move, but Jareth pinned her down. "Stop. Just rest."

"Bring Juturna back in." Hefyed demanded, and she appeared before them. Her hands had been shackled using iron handcuffs, and the King scoffed. "Who chained my daughter? I did not allow this! Remove them."

"Is that wise?" Jareth asked. "She is here on charges, why shouldn't she be chained?"

"She is a Queen, we cannot allow her to be chained like this. Her husband would not take kindly to it." The King reasoned, and Juturna scoffed.

"Excuse me, _I_ do not take kindly to it. Release me or I will not allow Mother in."

"Juju, I _need_ to look at you. I have seen that you have indeed been close to Sarah. I need to see exactly what happened, there is no use denying what you have done. I do not wish to see my daughter executed. Please, Juju." Arethusa tried to reason with her daughter, and Sarah could see tears in the woman's eyes.

"No!" Juturna said firmly, and she was backing away. Sarah wondered where she was trying to go, surely there was nowhere for her to run to here? "Release me first." She demanded roughly.

"Fine. Release the shackles." The High King commanded.

"Thank you." Juturna said insincerely, rubbing at her wrists. "I am not some animal to be restrained."

"I thought she could feel your emotions?" Sarah asked Jareth quietly, watching the debacle unfold in front of her. "Why does she need to touch her?"

"She can. She wants to _see_ what happened, and to do that she must touch us in the same way she touched you. There is no hiding from our mother, which makes Juturna even more foolish. She shouldn't have dirtied her own hands. She's trapped and she knows it." Sarah thought Jareth looked rather happy, his eyes hungry and full of vengence.

"What will happen to Juturna?" Sarah asked carefully, and Jareth shrugged.

"If I had my way, she would be executed. However, as Father is in charge of the trial, she is more likely to be imprisoned. If the High King condemns her, her own diplomatic position is rendered irrelevant. Her husband can't save her."

"Is this the trial right now? Just your Father? Isn't that a little unfair? Where is her husband?" Sarah asked, wondering why she would be alone when such a dramatic fate awaited her.

"So many questions, precious. This is not the usual type of trial, Juturna is being spared the humiliation of all that. There will be further questions, with other judges as the case progresses. Her husband will be called upon in due course, I am sure. He probably knows nothing of what she's been doing, or that's what he'll say."

"Juturna hasn't actually _done_ anything to me though. I'm alive and well. I don't want her to be executed because of me." Sarah protested, and Jareth hushed her.

"You're too sweet to be mine, my precious. I would happily slit her throat myself." Jareth said, and the malice in his voice made Sarah recoil from him.

"Don't say things like that." She said uncomfortably. "I don't like hearing you talk like that."

"It's who I am Sarah." He said flatly, and his eyes met hers - he looked different. It frightened her.

"Please, I hope that isn't true." Sarah said weakly, feeling her throat tighten. "I'll talk to you about it later."

"Anyway, what happens to her now isn't up to me. I have presented the facts, now her mind will provide the evidence that seals her fate. I just can't believe her foolishness." Jareth said in disbelief. He tightened his grip on her waist, his hand resting over her stomach protectively.

"Juturna. Let your mother in. If you refuse, I will take that as an admission of guilt and the sentence will be passed here and now." Hefeyd said, any tolerance for his daughter finally gone.

"Fine." Juturna spat, still speaking in Fae. "This is a ridiculous charade. I don't understand how I am to blame for Jareth's mistake."

"If it is truly my mistake then you have nothing to fear. Unless of course, you are hiding another secret." Jareth said antagonistically, and Juturna sighed.

"Just do it, Mother, so I can return to my kingdom in peace." Juturna relented, bowing her head to allow her mother clear access. Sarah watched, gripping Jareth's hand, as Arethusa closed her eyes.

Nothing happened for several minutes, and Sarah looked at Jareth. He was staring at the scene before him with a look of pure concentration, his mouth set in a grim line. The hall was so quiet, the tension was palpable. Sarah felt incredibly nervous, her stomach fluttering so much she thought she might be sick.

Suddenly, Arethusa sprang back, breaking the connection. She let out an anguished cry, falling to the floor on her hands. Juturna stepped back, and in the confusion of people rushing to the High Queen, she vanished.

"No!" Jareth screamed in frustration as he saw the last swirl of his sister's skirt. "How did you let her get away?" He asked his father furiously, as they helped pick Arethusa up from the floor. They moved her back into her throne, and she thanked them wearily.

"What did you see Mother?" Jareth asked urgently, and his mother waved a hand to silence him.

"She has done something unthinkable." Arethusa said weakly. "I can barely even comprehend it."

"You must tell us." Her husband pressed her, and Sarah could only watch on helplessly.

"Alaric." This was all she could say, the name getting stuck in her throat.

"She has harmed the babe?" Jareth asked, wondering why she would do anything to hurt the very person she was fighting so hard to secure a future for.

"She has drained his magic. He is weak and sickly, I fear he will not live. She refuses to acknowledge what she has done, she tried to tell me the child will be fine. I fear she has become quite mad."

"What?!" Jareth asked in shock. "Is that how her powers have grown?"

"I can't speak of it." She said, and a tear rolled down her face. "We must inform Aelfric, and take the babe back before it is too late. He needs magic, or he will die. How did she escape?"

"Was there no blockade on her power in place?" Jareth asked his father furiously; she would continue to evade his grasp, and judging by what she'd done to their mother, she was becoming increasingly erratic.

"There was." He said in confusion, looking at his wife in concern.

"You placed it yourself?" Jareth demanded, and Hefeyd shook his head.

"No, one of the guards did, as they always do in situations such as these."

"Which guard?" Jareth asked angrily. "Which buffoon did you entrust with the task?"

"I don't know, the Captain of the Guard takes care of that."

"I wish to see him. Mother, what else did you see?"

"Oh, this is her doing. She planned the whole thing, she even kept her spies in darkness so I would not be able to see their faces. She taunted me, showing me every thing she has done to try and destroy this family. Some things she kept hidden, using powerful magic to force me out. I don't know how she has done this, but what's done is done. She is no daughter of mine."

* * *

"Jareth, if you need to stay Underground, just tell me. I'll be fine here, I don't want to be too far away from you." Sarah begged him. They were standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, and she could see their Above bedroom waiting on the other side. She didn't want to go back Above because he was insisting on going with her, when she knew that his duties called him here.

"You have had enough stress for the day, you need to rest." He said demandingly, every inch the King. Sarah looked at him closely; he looked exhausted, his face almost grey with fatigue.

"I think you need to rest too." She said firmly. "If you stay here, you'll be closer if you need to do anything."

"I have no time to rest. Juturna is out there, and I need to help my parents retrieve the babe."

"Then you should stay here, and so should I. I feel fine!" She protested.

Then, Sarah's mind was drawn back to something - the talk of babies reminding her that her own mother was still under Juturna's power.

"My mother. Jareth, we need to go to my mother and remove the enchantment. Juturna could go to her and have her do anything."

"I've taken care of it. I sent her a crystal." Jareth said. "If you will not go through the mirror, at least lie down here."

"You can do that? From all this way?" Sarah asked, walking over to his enormous four poster bed and lying down. The mattress was hard from lack of use, and she shifted to try and get comfortable.

"Yes, Sarah. When she touches the crystal, the spell will be broken. She will have my protection." Jareth swore to her, and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

"I will never get used to how much you can do." Sarah said in astonishment. "How someone so powerful can be mine."

"You'll have your own powers soon, love." He reminded her, lying down next to her. "I'm just going to stay until I'm sure you're comfortable. My father is gathering his guards and will summon me." He said, though he curled his body around hers and shut his eyes.

"Your mother's power is incredible. I didn't know something like that was possible." She said quietly, stroking his arm.

"She is a remarkable woman. I have never met another Empath. It is why I promised my father never to fight with Juturna in front of her; it causes her great physical pain." Jareth said, his voice growing fainter. Sarah wondered if he would fall asleep, and she decided to keep talking to him. She knew he would be angry if she let him sleep.

"When will I be able to understand your language?" Sarah asked. "I would like to be able to."

"All Fae have the power of tongues, that will come to you in time. One day you will just be able to understand every language you hear."

"Teach me a little of your tongue now." She asked, and Jareth smiled. She really did know how to distract him.

"Just a little, and then you'll rest?" He propped himself up on his elbow, a smile playing on his lips. Sarah looked into his eyes, and was relieved to see the expression that was in them earlier had gone. He was just Jareth again.

"Yes." She promised, eager to learn his language.

"If you wish to say hello, the word is _elaough._ " He told her, and she tried to copy him.

"Elow."

"No, you need to have more emphasis on the - _gh_ sound. Like you were clearing your throat." Sarah wrinkled her nose, and he laughed. "It's a very complex language, a little like Welsh or Gaelic."

"Okay, okay I'll try again."

"Go on." He said, smiling at her. It was amazing how he could feel so tense over his sister, yet these little moments made him feel like an ordinary man in love.

" _Elaough,_ Jareth." She said, looking pleased with herself.

 _"Elaough,_ Sarah." He said, pressing a fond kiss to her mouth. "There, now you must rest."

"Alright." She said reluctantly, closing her eyes. "I'm worried." She admitted, and he hummed in agreement.

"So am I. You are safe, Sarah. I will never let her harm you."

"I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about her baby. How could she do something like that to her own child? I haven't even got a bump yet and I know I'd do anything for those two little beans inside me."

"You and Juturna are very different. I told you how cold the Fae are. It is only down to my parents that I am even capable of love. Nothing she could do would surprise me." There was a knock at the door, and Jareth got up to answer it. There was a goblin Sarah had never seen before on the other side.

"The High King has summoned you." The little thing said in a squeaky voice.

"Thank you. Dismissed." Jareth said, closing the door and returning to Sarah. "I need to go. Yeg will come and see you shortly, to make sure you are well. Do whatever he tells you to, it will be for your own good."

"Fine. Bossy. Just go and rescue that poor little thing before she hurts him more."

"I will. I love you, precious." He said, kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him, and he groaned into her mouth. "I really wish I didn't have to go."

"I love you. Now go!" She said, pushing him away. With a last lingering look at the woman he adored, he was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all your lovey reviews. It hasn't even been 24 hours since the last update but I can't keep my fingers still! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!**


	19. Knife Edge

Sarah was slipping into a deep sleep when there was a rough knock on the door. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"Who is it?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeg, His Royal Highness' physician." A voice from the other side said. Sarah got out of bed and padded over to the door. She opened it, and saw a small, elderly man on the other side. He was wearing long brown robes, and had pointy ears. This must be what an Elf looked like.

"Hello." She said awkwardly, moving aside to let the man in. He carried a cloth sack, and Sarah remembered that Jareth had told her he possessed no magic. Jareth never had to carry anything, he simply waved his hand and what he desired would appear.

"Good evening, Lady Sarah." He said formally, and Sarah waved, not knowing how else to greet him.

"It is nice to meet you, Yeg. Jareth has told me a lot about you."

"I have known His Highness for many years." Yeg said, his voice creaking like an old door. "I am happy to serve him. He has told me of your-" He paused, and gestured to her stomach. "Condition."

"Yes, I believe it's known as 'pregnancy'." She said ironically. "Jareth said that you would examine me?"

"Of course, my Lady. If you would be so good as to lie down and lift up your top garment." She realised he had probably never seen someone wearing mortal clothes before. "And loosen your pantaloons."

Sarah did as she was instructed, trying not to giggle, though it felt a little strange to expose her flesh to this odd little man she'd never met before.

"I have no magic to sense your child, but I am able to determine your general health. I specialize in herbal medicine, a type of magic in itself. It is truly incredible what the right mixture of herbs can do, I assure you."

"The tea you gave Jareth for me was wonderful. It soothed my morning sickness." She paused, realising that he had only said "child". "I am pregnant with twins, did Jareth not tell you?"

"I haven't had much time to speak with him. He merely said you were pregnant. When was your last course?" He asked awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Course?" She frowned, then realised what he meant. "Oh. Four months ago? The hospital above said I was fourteen weeks gone." Sarah told him, not knowing what else to say. She wished Jareth was here; it made her feel uneasy having this stranger asking her intimate questions.

"Unusual that they should predict so precisely. Fae gestation takes much longer, the fetuses should appear to be only a month or so developed." He mused, and Sarah shrugged.

"Could it just be because I'm still part human? Maybe I'll have a human pregnancy." She wondered out loud, and Yeg didn't really say anything in response.

He was a strange man, and Sarah thought he looked like the last person in the world Jareth would be friends with. Where Jareth was tall and flashy, this man was short and decrepit. Sarah wasn't sure what it was about him, but his strange, almost jerky, movements made her feel incredibly uneasy.

Yeg began to prod at her stomach, and she winced as he hit a tender spot just below her belly button. Her stomach still ached, and his rather bony fingers didn't help matters.

"Does that hurt?" He asked, and Sarah nodded.

"A little. I had a terrible stomach ache yesterday, the doctors Above said it was normal." She explained, and Yeg shrugged. Sarah wondered how much he actually knew about women.

"I'll give you something to ease it." He said, and he withdrew a strange round instrument. "This will allow me to hear their heartbeats." He explained, pressing the instrument to her abdomen and placing his ear against it.

"I am glad to hear it. I will give you something to strengthen your womb, as well as to aid your stomach ache. I'm sure Jareth has told you that this is a delicate time."

"Yeah, he has. A few times, actually." She said, thinking about exactly how many times she had heard that she shouldn't be alive. Yeg said nothing as he listened to her stomach. She looked down at him nervously, watching his face to make sure everything was okay. He pulled back and gave her a tight smile.

"Strong heartbeats. You seem physically well. I have prepared this for you to drink, it will help keep you well." He handed her a vial, and she drank it cautiously. It tasted disgusting, with a sharp metallic twang to it.

"What's in this?" She asked curiously, taking another sip. Jareth had told her to do whatever he said, and she wasn't about to disobey him.

"An age old Elvish remedy. You would be unfamiliar with the ingredients." Yeg said dismissively, watching her closely as she drank it. Sarah started to feel sick, and she put the vial down.

"It doesn't have iron in does it?" Sarah asked, running her tongue against the roof of her mouth to try and get rid of the taste. "It tastes like metal."

"No, nothing like that." Yeg said dismissively. He looked her over, and Sarah squirmed under his gaze, pulling her top down self consciously. "I see your markings have finished healing nicely." He brushed a finger over them, and Sarah recoiled back. His touch burned her, and she yelped in pain.

"Don't touch me!" She said fearfully, her hands raising to cover her markings. "Why did that hurt?" She asked shakily, trying to get up from the bed. Yeg placed a hand on her shoulder, pinning her down.

"Calm yourself." He smiled at her, and it was a smile so empty that Sarah's blood ran cold.

"What are you doing?" She asked shakily, still struggling against his touch. "Let me go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that Sarah. I have my orders." He said, his voice cold and taunting. Sarah still fought against him, but he was much stronger than he looked.

"Your orders are from Jareth!" She said desperately, flailing wildly. She hoped she would be able to find something heavy to hit him with, but there was nothing.

"That lust driven fool has no say over what I do. I serve my mistress."

"Your mistress?" Sarah asked, trying to distract him as she still desperately felt around for something to defend herself with. "You're working for Juturna aren't you?"

"I work for the rightful Queen, you are not fit to speak her name! You are a filthy changeling." He shouted, still trying to pin her down.

"I _am_ the rightful Queen!" She spat the words at him, the sudden venom in her voice taking her by surprise. "You are nothing!" With a sudden burst of determination, she kicked out a leg, hoping to God that Elves had the same equipment other men did. Judging by his pained yell, she was right. He stumbled backwards, and she shoved him to the floor. He tried to grab her desperately, and she knew if he got her now she'd never get free. He grabbed on to her ankle, and she tried to shake him off.

She looked around, trying to figure out a plan, still kicking at the Elf on the floor. She looked in the mirror - Jareth had left the portal to their house open. With one last heavy kick to Yeg's ribs, she ran for the mirror, throwing herself through it.

She stood, trying to figure out a way to close the connection between the mirror and the Underground. She shut her eyes, and waved her hand slowly over the glass. Just as Yeg launched himself at the mirror, the glass closed. It was just a mirror again. She stared down at her hands - she had closed the portal with just a wave of her hand. Her finger tips tingled as though she had pins and needles. Her magic had come.

There was no time to celebrate now - the first thing she needed to do was get rid of whatever she had just drunk from her body. She ran to the bathroom and shoved her fingers down her throat. She was sick until she was sure there was nothing left. The sickness she had felt had eased, and she placed her hand over her stomach.

"We're going to be okay, kids. I promise you." She said, feeling a little ridiculous talking to her own belly.

Now, the only problem was that she was in the wrong world. Jareth was busy, she couldn't call him, but Yeg was dangerous and needed to be stopped. She toyed with her amulet, trying to think of a plan. It was unusually hot beneath her fingers, and she wondered what it meant.

She got up, walking around the house trying to think of a way to get back to Jareth's castle. She couldn't risk Yeg getting to him before her.

"Hello?" She called out, knowing that sometimes the bolder goblins snuck in when Jareth was away. "If any of you are here, I need you to help me."

She could hear hushed whispers, and she smiled. "You're not in trouble for being here, it's alright. I really need your help. The King could be in danger."

"Kingy in danger?" She heard a little voice say, and a tiny goblin the size of a cat rushed to her feet. "Why Kingy in danger?"

"Have you heard of his sister?" She asked, kneeling down to talk to him.

"We no like his sister." A dopey looking goblin emerged from under a table. "She mean. She kick me."

"Kingy kick me too, but is okay. We like Kingy."

"Good, good. Yes, his sister is mean." She said sweetly. "I need to get back Underground, can you take me?"

"Why you need us?" The big goblin asked. "You Fae. You take yourself."

"I'm not fully Fae yet though." She explained slowly, losing patience with them. "I can take myself around the house, but not Underground."

"You Fae." The big one said firmly. "Me sure. You have sparkle eyes, just like Kingy."

"I'm really not." Sarah said in frustration. "I need your help to go Underground."

"Think where you want to be." The little goblin said. "You too big for us to take."

Sarah was getting increasingly annoyed with them; she could see why Jareth kicked them.

"Fine." She hissed at them, closing her eyes. "I want to be at the High Court, to see Jareth." To her surprise, she felt the familiar sensation of traveling through the air. When she came to a stop, she found herself outside the heavy doors of the High Court. She looked around her surroundings in astonishment, unable to believe it had worked.

"I need to see King Jareth, is he here?" She asked the guard stationed outside the door.

"The Goblin King and the High King have left." He told her stiffly, not looking her in the eyes.

"What about the Queen? Is she here? It's urgent." Sarah said desperately, needing to see somebody she knew.

"She is in the throne room." He told her, still not looking at her. Sarah waited impatiently for him to allow her through

"Please let me in." She said, as though it was obvious.

"I cannot allow you in."

"What? Why not?" Sarah demanded, hands on hips.

"I have my orders."

"Who gave you those orders?"

He said nothing, and Sarah saw for the first time that he was staring straight ahead, his eyes blank and unfocused. He looked as though he had been drugged. Not drugged - enchanted. Sarah needed to get away from him. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

"Take me to the throne room." A quick breeze flew through her hair. She opened her eyes and was relieved to see Jareth's mother sitting on her throne. "Arethusa! Thank God!" She ran to her and threw her arms around her in relief.

"Sarah? Are you alright dear?" Arethusa looked at her in confusion, her sudden appearance alarming her. "You feel tense."

"No! No I'm not alright, Juturna has Jareth's physician working for her, he tried to kill me!" She said in one babbled breath. "I went Above to escape him."

"How did you get here?" She asked in confusion. "Is Jareth with you?"

"No, I brought myself here." She panted, adrenalin rushing through her veins.

"Jareth and his Father left to capture Juturna."

"Arethusa, you're in danger. Juturna has enchanted one of your guards, I'm sure of it."

"I know she has, dear." Arethusa said wearily. "I have been manipulating their emotions to make sure they won't kill me. A kind of shield, I suppose."

"What are we going to do?" Sarah asked in panic. "How can we break the enchantment?"

"Enchantments have never been my strong point, my gifts as an Empath serve as my magic. We need Jareth or his father. I can hold them off for a while, and they should be back soon."

Sarah nodded, and she sat on the floor at Arethusa's feet. She felt a sharp stab of pain in her side, and let out a yell.

"Are you alright dear?"

"I don't know." She said breathlessly. "My side hurts. Ah!" She screamed, and she looked down to see her amulet had scorched her skin. "Why is my amulet hot?"

She looked up at Arethusa, and her face was grey, her eyes screwed shut.

"Jareth is hurt."

* * *

"Are you ready, son?"

Jareth and his father stood in the throne room of the High Court, both wearing armour. They had gathered a small group of their best men, who were waiting for them on the outskirts of the Elfish castle, awaiting orders. As High King, Hefyed had the right to position guards wherever he chose; if Jareth had done the same, it would be an out and out declaration of war.

"Father, is it wise that you accompany me? You're not getting any younger you know." Jareth said, and the High King tutted at him.

"Nonsense. I feel you may need someone to hold you back. You are not to kill her, do you understand me? She is our family and she will have a fair trial."

"Yes, yes." Jareth waved his hand dismissively. He summoned a crystal, looking into it. "I can't see her. She's blocked me out. How has her power grown so much? She could barely pull a rabbit from a hat before."

"What?" The High King frowned at his son in confusion.

"It's a human custom." Jareth said, forgetting that his father knew nothing of Above or their penchant for terrible magic tricks. "It is unimportant. What I mean is, she was barely capable of producing the simplest spells before, and now she has managed to drain her son's magic and use it effectively. I am surprised at her."

"She has no control over it, no polish. She will make a mistake, just as she always has done." Hefyed told his son firmly.

"Her lack of control is what concerns me. She has no concept of risk, she would do anything. Sarah is her target, and she is incredibly vulnerable."

"She is stronger than you give her credit for, son. Her magic is strong, I could feel it."

"You could?" Jareth asked dubiously. "Perhaps it is stronger than I think it is." He admitted, wondering if he had been underestimating her. He was so worried about her health that he didn't give her any faith, when really she had continued to excel all of his expectations.

"I have sent Aelfric a warrant for his wife's arrest, informing him that we are coming for her."

"Why did you do that?!" Jareth asked irritably. "You may as well have just given him our army to use against us."

"I will not invite war in my Kingdoms Jareth. I do not wish to ambush the Elvish Kingdoms, I merely wish to detain Juturna and save her son."

"She is the one inviting war! I wonder if that fool knows that she's been harming their son."

"I will discuss it with him. The babe needs to come with us, to see the best medics and have an urgent transfusion of magic."

"You get the babe out. I will deal with Juturna." Jareth said darkly, his fists clenched by his side. "Let's go, we're wasting time."

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?!" Aelfric demanded, standing at his throne as Jareth and his father burst through the doors. "I have received your warrant and I demand to know what my wife is accused of!"

"Firstly, she is guilty of escaping when she was under interrogation." Jareth said lightly. "Then, she is guilty of draining magic from an infant. Then, she is accused of attempted murder and sorocide. Then, she is accused of attempting to harm me. Then, she is accused of interfering in the Above world. Need I go on?"

"Draining magic? What are you talking about?" The Elf King demanded.

"Where is the child?" The High King asked.

"He is in his nursery."

"How is he? Thriving?" Jareth asked insincerely.

"He has been a little sickly." Aelfric admitted.

"Juturna has drained him of his magic. He is not sickly, he is dying. Bring him to us, urgently." The High King demanded, and Aelfric eyed him carefully. He could not deny an order from the High King, he was more powerful than anyone else.

"This is a trick. You Fae are the least trustworthy race, and I am supposed to hand you my son and heir?"

"You wont _have_ a son and heir for much longer! Juturna is constantly using his magic, she will destroy his life blood! Did you not wonder why she has grown so powerful, yet your son is weak?" Jareth shouted, imploring this idiot to see sense.

"I hardly see her." Aelfric said, shrugging. "It is no secret that our marriage is not a happy one. She does as she pleases, and I have not seen her properly for weeks."

"No wonder, she has spent all her time above trying to kill my betrothed! Where is she?"

"I do not know. Guards! Bring Alaric from his nursery." Aelfric called, and several elves scuttled out of the room.

"Don't lie to me." Jareth said, his voice dangerously low. "I have kept very, very calm until now. She is my twin, I know she's here somewhere. In the interest of political niceties, I will not tear your castle apart. I will not tear your castle apart, I will not tear _you_ apart, if and only if you hand her over now. She tried to block my magic, but I have undone her pathetic spell and replaced it with a much stronger one. She is trapped."

"Trapped, dear brother? Perhaps you are the one who is trapped." Juturna appeared, the babe in her arms. "Is this who you have come to see?"

"Juturna, hand me the child." Her father demanded, approaching her fearlessly. To Jareth's great surprise, she handed him the baby. "This madness needs to end."

"Madness?" Juturna asked, laughing. "Oh dear Father. The madness has barely begun."

"Why did you give the babe up so easily?" Jareth asked suspiciously, his hand resting on the sword he had resting against his thigh.

"He is useless to me now." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Useless? He is your only chance at getting my throne. You have been quite obsessed with him." Jareth said, raising an eyebrow. His hand edged to his sheathed sword.

"My only chance? No. No, I don't think so. I am powerful now, more powerful than you realise. I will have my throne, the throne that you took from me."

"Took from you?" Jareth said scathingly, scoffing. "I took nothing from you."

"I was born first!" She screamed, and the manic look in her eyes alarmed Jareth. "I was born first and that throne is rightfully mine!" Juturna advanced on him, and Jareth could see a dagger glinting in her hand. An iron weapon was more powerful than any defensive spell Jareth could have used.

"Juturna, this ends!" Aelfric finally intervened, and Jareth watched in horror as Juturna waved a hand. The Elvish King gasped in pain, and Jareth felt sick as blood poured from his neck. In seconds, he slumped to the ground. Juturna had slit his throat using only magic.

"Father, take the child back!" Jareth yelled to his father, who promptly disappeared. He tried to summon a crystal, but found his magic to be useless.

"You thought I would just allow you to remove my block, easy as that? Father can have the child, he will die soon anyway."

"Father will never allow you to take my throne, are you mad?" Jareth tried to focus on blocking any magical attacks, using an old shielding spell he'd learnt a thousand years ago.

"Perhaps not, but once I kill you, I will take your power. Once I have your power, will Father really be able to stop me? Not to mention the strength I've gained from your little ones. Who would think babes in the womb could posses so much magic?"

"What?" Jareth said, his blood running cold. "What have you done?"

"It began as fertility herbs, then once that was done, I had my little slave deliver her something a little darker." She said, a twisted smile on her lips.

"Linda?"

"No, not Linda. That funny little medic man you seem to like so much. It is rather handy having a spy who you trust so implicitly. You would think nothing of him handing your little Sarah any manner of potion." She said lightly, as though discussing the weather.

"Yeg?" Jareth asked furiously, still trying to avoid her as she prowled towards him. "You had Yeg poison Sarah?"

The betrayal of his most trusted adviser ripped through him, and all he could think was _would I even know if Sarah was already dead?_

"I understand he was to examine your precious little thing today. At least you will be together in the after life." Juturna said, lunging towards him. Her dagger was stopped by his armour, but whilst he was trying to fight her off, a guard came from nowhere and plunged a knife into his back.

He roared in pain, and managed to draw his sword, turning to cut down his attacker. Juturna tried to run, but he grabbed her by her hair. She struggled desperately, and her magic weakened. He could overpower her easily, kill her now and break all of her enchantments.

Something stopped him.

He needed her alive, he needed to find out exactly what she had done.

Then he would kill her.

"I could take your head right here." He told her, as he held the sword to her throat. His back was pouring blood, and everything felt a little swirly. "If any of your little guards try to harm me again, I will kill you. If I'm going to die, I'm damn well going to take you with me."

* * *

 **A/N: So, that was all rather dramatic wasn't it?! Please review!  
**


	20. Flesh Wounds

"If you kill me," Juturna spat, still trying to escape the blade that pointed at her throat "then you will never know what I've done to Sarah."

"If I kill you, your enchantments will be broken. There is no room for negotiation here, Juturna. You will lose either way. I'll tell you what, I am feeling nice, so I'll let you choose. I take you back to Father, the Elves demand you to be handed over to them. They kill you slowly, painfully and publicly. Or you tell me what you've done, how to fix it and I'll kill you quickly."

His back was killing him, the pain radiating through him. He tried to heal himself now that Juturna's block on his magic was broken. It helped a little, but the blood didn't stop. He could see it pooling on the floor by his feet, and he wondered if it would ruin his shoes.

"It is not that simple." She said, that same twisted smile on her lips. "If I die, they die."

"Who?" Jareth asked impatiently, trying to steady himself as his vision blurred.

"Your new heirs." Jareth lowered the sword accidentally, and Juturna grabbed it. The blade was sharper than she had expected, and the cold steel bit into her flesh. She watched as the blood welled in her palm. She smiled at him, her eyes glinting coldly. "If the iron from your sword kills me, I will die knowing I have destroyed all that you love."

"Why must you do this?" He said, giving into his urges and kicking her to the ground. She landed flat on her back, and he pointed his sword at her heart. "You are intent on making me as unhappy as possible. Are you really such a miserable bitch that you can't stand to see anyone contented?"

"I would destroy the Underground itself if it meant defeating you." She hissed. "Come Jareth, you are losing blood at an alarming rate. Let me go, or you will die here and never have a chance to save your precious Sarah. Falling in love with humans is a dangerous habit, brother. You never learn."

"And you never seem to learn that you will _never win._ If you have harmed my unborn children, I will ensure you have a fate worse than death. You will wish I killed you." He said viciously, thrusting the sword once more at Juturna's neck. His grip was lax, his strength fading.

"Let me go." Juturna said slowly. "Let me go or I will kill them."

"You have no way of killing them." Jareth said, trying to keep upright. His sword swayed dangerously close to Juturna, and she tried to squirm away from the tip of the blade. He was bluffing, of course; if Sarah was already dead, then the unborn children would be too.

"Did you not wonder why I touched her amulet?" She said, still lying on the floor. "It was not an attack. It was an activation. Did she have a stomach ache?" She asked innocently, and Jareth curled his hand round the sword's handle in anger.

"What activation?" He said, losing any thread of patience. "You're talking nonsense! Tell me what you're talking about or I will gut you like an animal, I swear."

"The same method I used on Alaric. I discovered it in a dusty old book in mother's library, it was quite fascinating. It allows the consumption of youngling's powers using herbs, an old trick from the Elves. Sarah's new magic was lost to me, anchored to you by that stupid amulet, but your children had no such protection - you hadn't even realised they existed, so how could you protect them? Their power had been quietly gathering there, and when I touched it, it was mine. When they are born, if they are born, you may find them to be quite mortal."

"You haven't?" He asked breathlessly, unable to believe what she had just told him, and he fell to the ground in despair, the pain in his back finally overpowering him.

"Don't bother trying to kill me, Jut." He said, eyeing her reaching for the blade.

"Why not?" She asked suspiciously.

"I don't know. I just thought that might work." He said, closing his eyes. Everything felt odd, as though he was looking at the world through misted glass. In the darkness, he mentally prepared himself to die; his magic wouldn't work, he was losing consciousness and Juturna had a sword pointed at his heart. He didn't fancy those odds.

 _I'm sorry Sarah. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry, children. I couldn't protect you either.  
_

* * *

Hefeyd appeared in the throne room, still clutching baby Alaric.

"My love!" Arethusa ran to him, throwing her arms around him. "Where are they?" She asked, looking behind him as if expecting her children to appear.

"Juturna killed Aelfric." He said, feeling numbed by his daughter's violent actions. Arethusa took the babe from him, and cradled him fiercely. "Jareth told me to leave and bring the babe here."

"He has been hurt." Arethusa told him quietly, eyeing Sarah who was in a heap, still clutching her side. "She can feel his pain, as can I."

"I need to go back to him, she's insane. She will kill him if she has the chance. She's found a way to consume the power of the baby, you saw correctly. She's sucking his life force dry. Take the boy to a medic, now." He commanded a guard, who vanished with the babe in his arms.

"Send an envoy to the Elvish Kingdoms. Tell them that King Aelfric is dead and that we need their forces to stop Juturna. If Jareth is injured, he'll never be able to get out of there without our help. If he is dead, she will take his magic and we won't be able to stop her."

"Jareth isn't dead." Sarah said weakly, standing up. "I would know if he was dead. He's injured, in his back. I can feel it."

"We'll save him, dear." Arethusa said soothingly. Sarah felt a sense of calm wash over her.

"No!" She shouted, shocking Arethusa. "No, don't change my emotions. If he is dead then I owe him my grief, if he is alive then I need to save him. I need a clear head, to be able to think properly. I know what to do." Sarah took a deep breath. She tried to think, her mind racing with the thought that Jareth could be taken from her so easily.

Suddenly, she remembered what Jareth had told her when he'd gone to Alaric's naming ceremony and was worried he would be trapped by Juturna.

 _If I don't return, you need to say the words. I will be duty bound to come to you if you say the words. They have an uncontrollable pull on me, magic embargo or not._

"He told me a long time ago that if he didn't come back, I could call for him. Will that work now?" She asked excitedly, feeling a glimmer of hope that all was not lost.

"Possibly." The High King said. "If he is weakened, he may not be able to come, but the power of the words is one that is not of our comprehension. They are true magic."

"I wish the Goblin King would come to me right now!" Sarah said, closing her eyes and praying with all of her being that it would work. Her amulet was still hot against her skin, the pain stabbing her back.

She opened one eye, and sobbed with relief when she saw Jareth appear before her. He fell in a crumpled heap at her feet. She pulled him to her, resting his back against her front, cradling him in her arms.

"Sarah." He smiled weakly at her, and she could see his face was drained of colour. " _Elaough,_ precious."

"Your back." She said in horror, touching the wound. Her hand was immediately soaked in his blood, and she could see it pumping out of his back steadily. "We need a medic!"

"Am I dead? Is this heaven?" He asked dreamily, and Sarah almost laughed. His eyes were unfocused, the pupil in his good eye looking smaller than ever. He looked pale and sweaty, his markings even more vibrant than usual against his death white skin.

"No, you're alive." She said, stroking the side of his face. "I'm so pleased to see you, you have no idea."

"Where - is - Juturna?" He bit out, his voice weak and rasping. "I - can't - let - her - go."

"Ssh. Your father is sending forces to get her, it'll be okay." She said, trying desperately to soothe him. "Try not to talk love, just rest. You've had a really bad injury, but you're going to be okay." She felt tears dripping from her face, and she struggled to maintain her composure. "We're gonna heal you, alright? You're not going anywhere, you're not leaving me."

"Sarah." He panted, his eyes unfocused and watery. "You - need - to - see.." his words were unclear. "The - babies."

"What about the babies?" She frowned, wiping sweat from his brow. "They're fine, I'm keeping them safe. We need to worry about you my love."

"Iron." He grunted. "Her guard - iron weapon."

"It's okay, we'll fix you." Sarah said desperately, looking to the High King and Queen for reassurance. The look on their faces didn't make Sarah feel much better.

"Iron?" Hefeyd asked, moving closer to the pair. "You're sure it was iron?"

"Mmm." Jareth said, his eyes shut and grimacing in pain. "I can feel it in my blood."

"Focus your magic, push it out." Arethusa said desperately. Iron injuries were difficult to heal, and one of the only ways to truly kill a Fae. There wasn't much to do about it; it entered their blood stream so quickly and caused horrific damage.

"I can't." Jareth bit out. "I'm going to die."

"No! No you are not going to die!" Sarah said angrily, tears falling down her face and onto Jareth's head. "I will not let your sister take our life away. Do you hear me Jareth? I need you, your children need you. Now focus your magic and do what your mother says!"

"Bossy, aren't you?" He laughed weakly, coughing. Sarah was horrified to see blood stain his lips.

"What can we do?" She asked in panic. She placed her hands over his wound, closing her eyes. She wasn't sure what she was doing, it was as if she was being guided by something she couldn't see. She heard a distant humming, a warmth spreading through her hands, up her arms and through her entire body. She felt as though she would explode from heat, but didn't remove her hands from Jareth's back.

Jareth opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked in wonder, staring at Sarah's hands. He looked up at her, and raised his eyebrows in shock. "Precious. You _will_ find ways to surprise me."

"What?" Sarah asked fearfully, still focusing on the warmth at her fingertips.

"You're healing me. I can feel it. Look at your hands now."

Sarah turned over her palms, and she could see grey specks all over her hands, as well as the crimson staining of Jareth's blood.

"What is that?" She asked in confusion.

"Iron. You pulled it from me." Jareth rasped, his eyes closing of their own accord. Sarah stared down at him, confused by what he meant. He seemed to be losing consciousness, and she looked around in panic.

"What have I done?" She asked the Queen, her voice shaking.

"Your powers are here, darling girl." Arethusa interjected, a tentative smile on her lips. "What timing."

"Remarkable. Fae at last." Jareth said in wonder. He wasn't healed entirely, but the iron had been driven from his body and that would make all the difference. Then, he passed out.

* * *

He awoke later, lying in his bedchamber. It was dark, Sarah was next to him, asleep in a chair. She was bent forwards, still holding his hand. He shifted a little, trying to get comfortable and Sarah woke up.

"Are you okay?" She mumbled, trying to sit up. Her body was exhausted, and Jareth could feel her energy was low.

"Me? I'm fine. What are you doing sleeping in a chair? Come." He yanked her arm and she moved over to the bed, gingerly tucking herself around his body. He was topless, his midsection covered in bandages.

"I didn't want to hurt you." She said quietly, stroking his face. "I thought I was going to lose you. You've been unconscious for two days"

"What happened?" He asked groggily. He couldn't remember much, just Juturna's cruel, laughing face.

"You fainted from blood loss, the medics said. They've healed you properly, but they said you have some damage that they couldn't repair, so you need to rest and take it easy and it will heal in time."

"I don't do "taking it easy", Sarah." He said sullenly, and she laughed. He was back.

"I know, but unless you want to die, I'd listen to them. Do you remember what happened with Juturna?" She asked gently, burying her face in his chest. He was alive, really alive, and she couldn't let go of him.

"No. Not much. I got stabbed, I assume."

"That's putting it lightly. I don't know how Fae anatomy works, but if it's anything like human you're lucky you still have kidneys. A huge weapon, right through the back."

"A coward's attack. Where is Juturna?" Sarah avoided his gaze, and he groaned in frustration. "They haven't found her, have they?"

"No." Sarah admitted. "Your father sent guards, the Elves sent guards, but she escaped."

"I've got to go." He said, trying to get up. Sarah pinned him down, sighing in frustration.

"You're going nowhere. Do you want her to finish the job and actually kill you?" She chastised him, looking at the wound on his side.

"Sarah, you can't expect me to just lie here whilst she's out there." Jareth said impatiently, and Sarah tutted.

"Dam right I do." She said firmly. "Jareth, you nearly died. You can't just march around like you normally do."

"I don't march. I strut." He said dryly. "If I don't stop her-"

"There are armies after her Jareth. Actual, honest to God armies. They'll find her, and your father's asked them to bring her to us." Sarah said firmly, and Jareth could see determination in her eyes.

Her markings shimmered in the dim light, and he was struck once again by how she was truly a Fae. He could no longer sense her humanity, her transformation was complete at last. He felt at ease knowing that the babies wouldn't kill her now.

"You seem to know an awful lot about the situation." Jareth said, raising an eyebrow.

"Someone had to deal with it whilst you were napping." She said sarcastically. "Alaric isn't well." She added quietly, her face creased with worry.

"Have you seen him?" Jareth asked, his eyes closing. He was so very tired.

"Yes. I held him for hours." Sarah said, remembering how light he had been in her arms, utterly defenseless. It had baffled her how Juturna could hurt such a little thing, especially after carrying him in her own body for so long.

"Are there healers with him?" Jareth asked, moving his hand to caress Sarah's stomach. She placed her hand over his, keeping him there. It felt a little more rotund than it had the last time he'd touched it.

"They are, but they don't know what to do. They've never seen anything like this." Sarah said, wanting to cry. They all assumed the baby would die soon, he was weak and not feeding.

Words echoed round Jareth's head, and he struggled to make sense of them.

" _If I die, they die."_

 _"If I die, they die."_

 _"If I die, they die."_

He sat up quickly, and Sarah began to shout at him.

"Stop. Stop, we need to get you to a medic." Jareth said, trying to figure out just _why_ she needed a medic. The pieces were there but he couldn't make them fit.

"Me?" Sarah asked, frowning. "I'm fine. You, however, are going to burst your stitches sitting up like that. Lie down." She commanded him, and he shook his head.

"If they capture her, we need her alive." Jareth pressed, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. He was still weak, but he had no time for weakness. "She has to be alive."

"Tell your father that. The Elves want her head." Sarah said. "They've been here in the High Court for the last day, Aelfric's brothers are not happy."

"They can get in line with the people who are 'not happy' with my sister." He said wryly, ignoring the throbbing in his back. He stared at Sarah for a minute, trying to work out what had change. "Look at you. You're Fae."

"You don't remember?" She asked with a small smile. "I healed you. My powers have come. I managed something even better while you were asleep. Watch."

Jareth watched with interest as she turned her hand, and grinned uncontrollably when he saw a small, but perfectly formed, crystal appear on her finger tips.

"They're not as good as yours, yet. I don't think they actually do anything, but it's pretty cool."

"Look into it." Jareth touched the crystal with the tip of his finger. "Now."

Sarah gazed into the small orb. Then, she threw it against the wall in horror.

"What?" Jareth asked in surprise. "What did you see?"

"Juturna has Toby."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm not going to lie, I really struggled with this chapter and I'm not that happy with it. I don't plan what's going to happen and I found it hard to move the story along. I hope you enjoyed it, hopefully the next few are less of a pain to write.**


	21. It All Ends

"She has Toby? You're sure?" Jareth asked, summoning another crystal. In it, he could see Toby, sleeping peacefully. Twisting the orb to get a better look at the child's surroundings, he saw Juturna, sitting in the corner. She was looking up, straight into Jareth's eyes, her smile taunting him. She knew he was watching, and she was waiting.

"I need to go to him, he's not safe. Why couldn't she go after me instead?" Sarah said, standing up and looking around for her shoes.

"She tried that. You're here now, and there's no way she could get into my castle without finding her head on a spike. Toby's an easy target; he's your weakness, she must have found him somehow." He watched Sarah put her sneakers on. "You're not going."

"I need to go! How do I get there?" She asked, and Jareth ssh-d her.

"I'd need to take you, you'd just get lost. Sarah, calm down. You can't just go barging in. I have a plan." Jareth said determinedly, trying to get her to lie back down. She struggled against him.

"You can hardly fight her! She'd only have to kick you in the side and you'd be down."

"Sarah, you cannot expect me to allow you to go. You have no control over your magic, she'd kill you in seconds."

"Not if I kill her first." Sarah said fiercely.

 _If I die, they die._

"Sarah, she's done something to you. Lie down, calm down, you need to try and feel the babies."

"Feel them?" She frowned. "How can I feel them?"

"You are Fae now, love. You may not have felt them before, but can't you feel them now?" He asked, pressing his hand over her stomach.

"I can't feel anything." She said with a frown, her hands over her stomach. "It feels like it did before."

"How have you been feeling?" Jareth probed, trying to get his head around the situation. He still felt weak and wounded, but his powers were strong as ever. Being near the Labyrinth restored him; they were one, and they healed each other.

"My stomach still hurts. It's been getting worse, actually."

"Do you feel tired?"

"Exhausted."

"Can you remember when I first gave you something from Yeg?"

"Um, I guess it was when I had the stomach flu that time?" She said. "He's in the dungeons, if you want to ask him."

"I think I'd snap his neck if I saw him again." He sighed. "I'm going to have to, I need to find out what he's done."

"No, we need to find Toby! This is wasting time, Jareth. Take me there right now!"

"I told you, you aren't going. I will go, it is my fault you're both in danger and I will sort it out even if it kills me."

"It will kill you! You almost died already and you're suddenly going to go and fight your sister, some bitch who has more power than she knows how to control?"

"Exactly, she can't control it! She's mad Sarah. She's losing her grasp of the situation; killing Aelfric was the first sign of that. The power has driven her insane, couldn't you tell? She's always been on the edge, but now she's completely addled, her mind destroyed - burned by her own greed. She's been using her power too carelessly, bewitching guards, wasting energy. She injured herself on my sword, she probably has iron poisoning just as I did."

Jareth knew she didn't have iron poisoning; there was something else stopping her. If it had gone the way he planned, she would be as harmless as a puppy.

"She bewitched your parents' guards too."

"She can't maintain that kind of enchantment, not over such a long distance. She's retreated, if they haven't found her it's because she's using magic to mask herself. Alaric is safe and out of her grasp, so unless she's got another so-" He stopped in the middle of his sentence, frowning in concentration.

"What?"

"Hush. Hush, let me think." He said sharply, rubbing his forehead.

 _Didn't you wonder why I touched her amulet? It was an activation._

"Sarah, lie back." He said quickly, his voice hard. She backed onto the bed, doing what she was told.

"What? Why?" She questioned him when she was lying back. The fear in his eyes scared her, even more than she already was.

"I couldn't sense the baby when we were in hospital, before the scan. I can't sense them now." He said, placing his hands over her stomach. She saw the familiar golden glow of his magic, and her entire stomach glowed.

"What does that mean?" She asked with a frown.

"Juturna has done something to you, to them. You should have been incapacitated by their energy being drained like this. She must have done something using Elvish ways to ensure you didn't die. Her power source with Alaric was running out because he's only half Fae and so young. None of this makes sense, I've never heard of anything like this, but I fear she has done exactly what she did to Alaric."

The pieces of the puzzle were all fitting together, Jareth's quick mind (and Juturna's predictability) filling in the blanks.

"How?!" Sarah asked, thinking of that poor shell of a baby lying in a cradle in the High Court and imagining her twins having the same fate. It sickened her.

"Her touching your amulet wasn't to _kill_ you. It was to connect with them. I thought her presence within your magic the other day was just because she'd touched it, but she's attached herself to them."

"I thought it was normal I couldn't feel them. I thought it was because I was human." She said hurriedly, clutching her stomach. "She's killing them, isn't she? That's why my stomach hurts so much."

"I don't know, but I'm going to stop her right now. You rest, don't let anybody in. No medics, not my parents, nobody at all. Nobody is to touch you except me when I return."

"Just save him, Jareth. Save him, and stop her."

* * *

"How nice of you to finally join me, brother." Juturna stood before him, a knife held to her own throat. Another blade glinted in her hand.

"This ends. Now." Jareth said, going to grab the knife. She only moved the other one closer to her throat, and Jareth saw blood begin to trickle down her neck.

"No sarcastic preamble?" Juturna asked innocently. "No cursing my name?"

"I'm finished playing your games. If you have dared to hurt this boy, I will show you no mercy." Jareth said, not looking at her. Toby snuffled in his sleep, and Jareth couldn't help but smile; he really was such a sweet boy.

"I don't expect your mercy, Jareth. I'm going to die whatever happens, we both know that. You know I haven't hurt him. My magic has weakened." She admitted, scowling. Her movements were jerky, unpredictable. "Whatever was on that sword of yours has done it's job."

"You've worked it out then." Jareth said indifferently, moving to check on Toby. He slept peacefully; a heavy sleeper indeed.

"Coating your sword is a cheap trick." Juturna said angrily, edging closer to the sleeping boy. Jareth stood between them, and she pointed the weapon at Jareth. Her arms were shaking, her whole body weak. She had the strength of a mortal; difficult to become accustomed to when magic

"Cheap, yet effective. Sadly not as powerful as covering a chair with a whole load of it, as you well know." Jareth said lightly.

There was a secret he hadn't told Sarah, and he couldn't tell anyone; he had coated the tip of his sword with the very same poison Juturna had used against Beatrice. His father had forbidden him from killing her, so he had to find some way to make sure he could harm her if needed, but keep her alive. The slightest nick with the sword would deliver the poison, yet take hours to take effect. It was an insurance policy, one that he hadn't expected to use.

He had been unable to find a strong dose, but the tiny bit he had used had been enough to take the edge off her powers. He had hoped it would disable her entirely, but the flow of magic from his children must have been enough to sustain it. The thought sickened him.

If the High King found out what he had done, Jareth would be in nearly as much trouble as Juturna. He had sworn that he wouldn't kill her, and poison was a dirty trick that wasn't the same as killing someone in self defense. He would have to take the secret to the grave, or he would be seeing it a lot sooner.

"I was trying to find someone connected with Sarah. As soon as you were gone, I summoned crystal after crystal. I found him. He was covered in your magic, and when I got here, I realized why. Drawing after drawing of the Labyrinth. That explains why Sarah was so difficult to manipulate; the Labyrinth's Champion. I thought such things were legend. Yet your babies were surprisingly easy. Magic works in strange ways, I suppose."

He let her speak; interrupting her would be pointless, and she was telling him so much that could be useful in the future. She stared at him, her eyes flicking around wildly. It was as though she was drunk, but really she was just damaged.

"My magic weakened as soon as I got here; really Jareth, you need poisons to act quickly or they are useless. You should have just killed me there, you allowed me to escape with poor planning. Even I learnt that much from our lessons as children." She said mockingly.

"You don't have enough power to do anything to him." Jareth shrugged. "And the poison was all I could find at such short notice."

"No, I don't have enough power to do anything to him, not that way. I had just enough power to hide my presence here. I wanted you to find me, not Aelfric's brothers or father's army. I waited for you, there's no fun in killing someone you love unless you're here to watch it. What a pity you didn't bring Sarah. She could have watched too."

"Why would I let you do that?" Jareth said, knowing he could easily block any physical attack on Toby, even in his weakened physical state. This was pathetic; Juturna was trapped, powerless and entirely at his mercy. If he didn't hate her so much, he might almost feel sorry for her.

"Because you don't know if what I told you about your children is true. If I die, will they die too?" She had lost all control, was powerless, but she was still desperately clinging to the last card in her hand.

She had used Elvish potions to create the connection, and even though the magic used to activate it was gone, Jareth had no idea what that meant for his children. He was concerned that even using that poison could have killed them - he would never have used it if he'd known about what she had done to them beforehand.

"Juturna, you really are an idiot." Jareth said mockingly.

"Why?"

"Because you seem to have forgotten I can just do this." He touched her shoulder, and they were back in the High Court. Taking advantage of her disorientation, he knocked the blades out of her hands. "You are so bold, yet so very, very stupid sister."

Within seconds, she was surrounded by guards.

"You've lost, Jut."

* * *

Jareth went back to his castle, only to get Sarah. She jumped up when she saw him, her face set in a line of worry.

"Well? How is he?"

"Sleeping like a babe. He didn't even wake up. How are you?"

"It doesn't matter how I am. What if she enchanted him?" Sarah asked, as though Jareth was stupid. "You just left him there?"

"No, she didn't. I assure you, he is quite well. We can go and check him later, but we need to go to the High Court immediately. She is in custody there, and the Elves are baying for her blood. I need to be there, and I'm not leaving you again."

"This all seems far too good to be true." Sarah said with a frown. "You may as well wrap her up in a bow."

"I'm not sure our troubles are over, but at least we don't have her hanging over our head anymore. Come, we need to go." He touched her shoulder, and they were outside the High Court before Sarah could blink.

"His Royal Highness Jareth the Goblin King, and his betrothed Lady Sarah Williams."

They entered the throne room, and Jareth bowed before his parents. Sarah curtsied, still not used to the gesture, and wobbled slightly.

"Juturna is chained in the dungeon." Hefyed told his son wearily, looking as though he had aged hundreds of years over night. Arethusa sat silently by his side. Her face was red and swollen, days of crying taking their toll.

"What is the plan?" Jareth demanded, and the High King looked at his wife. She nodded weakly, slumped in her throne.

"Your mother asks you for mercy." He told his son, and Jareth shrugged.

"Mother has my mercy. She has done nothing wrong." Sarah cringed at his sarcasm; he could never take anything seriously for long.

"You know I meant for Juturna." Jareth's father said icily, and Jareth laughed.

"Oh. Juturna does _not_ have my mercy. I ask that I am allowed to have a say in her fate. The Elf Kings will surely want revenge for their brother's death, Mother will not be able to reason with them. Juturna has to die, and I will swing the sword myself. However, I have reason to believe that her death would kill my own unborn children. Therefore, I ask that the sentence be delayed until they are born."

"You would offer her a reprieve?" Arethusa asked, leaning forward. Jareth shook his head firmly.

"Not a reprieve. This has nothing to do with _her_. We will wait until my children are born, and see what she has truly done." Jareth said firmly. "I doubt the Elves would tolerate anything less than execution, and this way they will have it."

"If the Elves do not agree?" Sarah asked cautiously. Jareth took her hands in his, and looked at her tenderly.

"Then I will go to war with them." Jareth said, his face stern.

"You would go to war just for our unborn children?" Sarah asked uncertainly, her hand pressed to her stomach.

"Just? There's no just about it. I have shown myself quite willing to die for you, precious. Of course I would do whatever it takes to ensure their safety."

"There will be no need for war." Hefyed interrupted. "The Elves will agree. They do not want war. Alaric is due to inherit the throne when he is older, I do not know if they will even want him."

"We will care for the child, Hef." Arethusa said firmly. "He will be under our protection."

* * *

Sarah flopped down onto their bed, their real bed in their house in London. Jareth had decided that they needed to get back to some vague sense of normality, and this was the closest he could offer her.

"I think we should just wait and see." She said quietly. "I'll be monitored by the hospital here, and you can keep an eye on me. Even if the babies are born mortal, I'll still love them. Won't you?"

"Of course I will." He told her sharply. "I will love them no matter what, but if they are mortal it just makes things that bit more complex. I want an easy life, for once."

"I'm just glad we have a life." Sarah said, unbuttoning his shirt and slipping her hand in the gap. She could feel his heart drumming beneath his ribs, another reminder that he wasn't dead, that their troubles were over for the most part. "We still have a wedding to plan."

Jareth laughed, pulling her on top of him. She tried to tell him to watch his back, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"I would marry you in a ditch if it meant I'd get to call you my wife." He said, rubbing his nose against hers affectionately.

"I was thinking more of a registry office, if you don't mind. Then wherever we'd have to get married Underground." She said. She rolled off of him, and pulled up her top. "I think I'm getting a bump. Can you see it?"

"Yes." He bent down and placed a kiss on her belly button. "Hi kids. It's your daddy." Jareth said against her stomach, and Sarah laughed. "Mummy's laughing at Daddy, but don't worry. I know that she loves me really."

"I guess I do." She said, stroking his hair fondly. "I'm exhausted." She admitted.

"Sleep my love. It's all alright now."

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter was even more of a pain to write than the last one. I was actually forcing myself to write it, or I knew I'd just abandon this story. You guys always say such nice things that I didn't want to leave it unfinished.**

 **It's actually the only chapter I planned from the outset; it was always going to turn out like this. If you re read the story, there are clues to everything I've said littered throughout. It may not have been a big show down, but I wanted to show that Juturna was driven mad by power and tripped herself out, and was always going to go down without much of a fight.**

 **Anyway, that's my long justification of my writing done. One thing - what would you guys like to see? An epilogue, or a few more chapters of nice things? Please review!  
**


	22. Stags and Hens

"What about this one?" Sarah asked, pointing to a picture of a crib in a catalogue.

"That's very nice." Jareth said indifferently, looking at it breifly before returning to going through documents for the day. "But isn't it a little early to be looking at baby things?"

They were in his office Above, Sarah sat cross legged on the floor whilst Jareth was at his desk. They had been Above for almost a week; Jareth wanted a break from the stress of dealing with his sister, and Sarah wanted to rest and focus on building her powers without the interference of others. Even after her transformation, she still felt exhausted and sick. Morning sickness could happen even to supernatural beings, Jareth tried to reassure her.

"I guess." Sarah said, closing the book. "I just feel so excited now." She rested her hands on her stomach, which was now the tiniest bump, small but definitely there. She would stare at it in the mirror for ages, until she could hardly believe it was her.

"Mmm." Jareth was still cautious, not sure what would happen. He had paid for Sarah to have another scan privately, and the babies were still looking to be perfectly healthy and normal. "Maybe we should focus on the wedding first, babies next?"

"Okay. So, I booked the registry office. Dad's booked flights for them. Do you have a suit?" She asked him, and with a wave of her hand she had a notebook on her lap. This magic thing was pretty great. She looked down at the list she had written; their wedding would be in three weeks time, and she hadn't really done anything.

"Yes, Sarah." Jareth prided himself on looking his best, whether Above or Underground. He had a wardrobe full of custom made suits from Saville Row. "Do you have a dress is the more pressing question?"

"Shit!" Sarah swore, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Sorry. No, I don't have a dress. I didn't even put it in my list! What the hell am I going to do?" She asked in panic. In all the distraction, she hadn't even looked at wedding dresses.

"Have you forgotten you're magic now?" He asked dryly, scrawling his signature on the bottom of a long piece of parchment. "Just make something."

"Make something? I can just about create a crystal and take myself to the kitchen, I don't fancy my chances with a wedding dress. I'll go and get one today, I'll call my mom. She'll know what to do." She vanished on the spot, and Jareth smiled. It was strange seeing her use her own power; she didn't need him as much anymore. It was a great step, and one he was incredibly proud of, but he missed helping her so much, just a little.

He continued with his work, waiting for Sarah to come back. The Elves had finally agreed to his terms regarding Juturna, and it was agreed that her execution would take place after his children's naming ceremony. There was much paperwork to sign, a new treaty agreed.

Sarah popped back.

"Mom can't believe I've been so stupid." She said with a smile. "And she's marching round right now to take me find me something, she knows someone who runs a bridal shop who should be able to squeeze me in. Remember, not a word about my pregnancy, okay?"

They had decided they would wait until Sarah was six months gone to tell people; by then, they would know if the babies were following a human growth pattern or a Fae one. There was no point telling anybody now and then having to explain why it took much longer than expected for them to actually arrive.

"Mum's the word." Jareth grinned. "You'll look divine in whatever you wear, sweet thing. I've had some designs sent up from Underground for your wedding dress, and then your coronation one too. I'll give you them to look over, and any changes you wish to be made will be done."

"Can't we do both at the same time?" Sarah groaned. "By the time I'm crowned I'm going to be the size of a whale."

"But you'll be the most beautiful whale, darling. It takes time to organize these things, Sarah, even with magic. It will hardly be a secret that we've had sex now that you're fully Fae, so pregnancy wouldn't be a surprise."

"I've never heard you call it sex. I don't even know if I've heard you say sex." She said with a laugh. Jareth raised an eyebrow. "It sounds weird. Say it again."

"Sex, sex, sex. There you go." He smiled. "I could give you a practical demonstration if you'd prefer." He said, scooping her up in his arms.

"My mom will be here in twenty minutes!" Sarah protested halfheartedly, and Jareth smiled wolfishly down at her.

"That sounds like a challenge."

* * *

"What do you think?" Sarah asked her mother, turning around. She was wearing a slim ivory gown with long sleeves made from intricately patterned lace. It was made of silk, and shimmered in the wintery light streaming in from outside. Luckily for Sarah, it had a fairly tight bodice that hid signs of her emerging bump without crushing it. The skirt flared out just above the hips, skimming her stomach.

"Very nice." She said with a smile. "Oh, you look so beautiful. My little girl!"

"Mom, don't start now!" Sarah said with a laugh. "You've still got the wedding to get through!"

"It's like it was made for you." The seamstress, Linda's friend Mary, said. "He's a lucky man, that Jared."

"Jareth." Sarah corrected her automatically. "It is awful nice, you don't think it's too tight?"

"Nonsense!" Linda said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Who wants to look like a cloud on their wedding day anyhow? Ooh, I love that hat! Excuse me." She wandered over to the area of the shop that had clothes for wedding guests.

"It fits you lovely, dear. Don't worry, we have lots of brides in your condition." Mary said in a hushed voice. Sarah turned to look at her, trying not to look surprised.

"What?" Sarah asked innocently, her eyes darting to make sure her mother hadn't heard.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything. But I can tell just by the glow on your face. I reckon it'll be a boy by the way you're carrying." Mary told her, fussing around the sleeves to make sure they were the right length.

"It's twins, actually." Sarah said quietly. "But please don't say anything, we aren't telling anyone until after the wedding."

"My lips are sealed. Would you like to look at a veil?" She asked in a louder voice as Linda came back over to them.

"Um, I don't think so. It's only in a registry office, nothing fancy." Sarah said. One of Jareth's Fae friends had offered their large London house for the reception, and Sarah was so horribly disorganized that she had accepted with gusto, on the condition that all the Fae kept their pants on.

"Alright dear. So, do you think this is the one?" Mary asked, beginning to unlace the bodice.

Sarah looked at herself in the mirror again, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah, I think this is it."

* * *

"Hello? Jareth?" Sarah called out, holding her dress in a clothes bag. It had fitted so well that Mary had let her take it away today, and Sarah wanted to hang it up in a spare bedroom as soon as possible.

"Up here, love." His voice sounded as though he was next to her, a trick she had yet to master.

"I'm going to one of the spare rooms, don't follow me!" She yelled up the stairs.

"You found one then?"

"I'll come talk to you in a minute, I'm going to go hoarse!" She closed her eyes and thought of the room she wanted to be in. She opened her eyes, and she was in the right room - unfortunately, so was Jareth.

"Hello, love." He said with a smile. "Bugger. You've ruined my surprise."

Sarah frowned, not sure what he meant. Then, she noticed the room was empty, and he was wearing what she imagined his idea of scruffy clothes to be - a loose white shirt and some grey leggings. His feet were bare, and he was standing on a small stepladder. He was holding a paint brush, and his hair had speckles of white running through it.

"You're painting." She said, frowning. He had never struck her as the DIY type.

"Mmm. This room was a little tired, I don't think I've touched it since the '60s. I thought it would make a perfect nursery, it's not too far from our room and it has a lovely bright feel to it. I thought we could put the cots over by that wall." Jareth told her, turning to coat the walls in white paint.

"You're fully expecting them to be mortal, aren't you?" Sarah asked quietly. She had always planned on having a nursery up here, but the fact that he was doing it without her asking made her suspicious. Jareth sighed, putting down the paint brush and moving over to her. She was looking at her feet, and he tipped her chin up to face him.

"I don't know what they'll be love, but if they are, they can't come Underground, at least until I can find a way to fix it. We may as well prepare for all eventualities. We'll need a nice nursery anyway, for when we come to show them off to your mother."

There would be complications Sarah's family seeing the children if they were Fae, of course - Fae children aged much slower than mortal children, but Jareth was confident things would work themselves out.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It just hurts a bit." She admitted. He went to wrap his arms around her, and she moved away, wagging a finger at him. She was smiling again, and Jareth loved to see her smile. "Nuh uh buster! You're covered in paint and I'm holding the most expensive dress I've ever bought. I'm going upstairs, don't follow me. It's top secret!"

"Fine, love. I don't want to bring us any bad luck, Lord knows we've had our fair share."

* * *

"I can't believe you're having a bachelor party." Sarah said with a raised eyebrow. It was December 5th, around a week before their wedding. Some of Jareth's Fae friends who lived above ground had decided that, as Jareth had been the ultimate bachelor, he would have to have the ultimate bachelor party. All Sarah knew is that it would involve copious amounts of Fae wine.

"Everyone has a stag night before they get married, why shouldn't I? You're having a bridal shower." Jareth pointed out, and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I am only having a bridal shower because my mom insisted. I don't even know who'll come. Maybe the girls from work. They're more used to hen nights over here, they sounded confused by a bridal shower." Sarah shrugged. She was in her pyjamas, flicking through a TV guide to see what was on. Jareth smiled, not wanting to leave this perfect picture of domesticity.

"I know some of the Fae women would come if you wanted them there." Jareth pointed out; several were wives of the men he was seeing tonight, but there was a whole network of Fae who had chosen to live above for one reason or another.

"Maybe." Sarah said. She had met some of Jareth's Fae friends before, and they were all incredibly beautiful - and incredibly sexual. They made her feel uncomfortable, and Sarah wasn't sure if she wanted to introduce them to her mother.

"Irene will be there, won't she?" The bridal shower was being held just a couple of days before the wedding - Sarah had insisted that Jareth's stag take place at least a week away from the actual wedding date. She'd heard stories of grooms being tied to lamp posts, and the Fae were much more imaginative than that. He'd probably end up being tied to the top of Big Ben or something.

"Don't remind me. You haven't met her yet. Prepare yourself for that. Anyway, my bridal shower won't exactly be debauched, will it?" She "said, gesturing to her stomach. "Now listen, you are to come home to me tomorrow one, intact." She listed off the conditions on her fingers. "Two, no ending up in Brazil or somewhere. Three, no messing around with humans. Four, no getting so drunk you forget who I am. Got it?"

"Yes dear. Ball and chain already." He said, bending down to kiss her on the head. She stood up to hug him properly, and Jareth noticed her belly was sticking out a little more than the day before. They were cutting it fine with the Above wedding; everyone would guess if it got any bigger.

"Watch it you." She said, jabbing him in the chest. "Why aren't you going Underground for the party anyway?"

"I'm a king Underground. Up here I'm just a normal person and I can get as drunk as I want and tell everyone how I'm marrying the most beautiful, intelligent, tolerant woman in the entire world without being reminded that I need to sign some trade agreement or other." He told her earnestly, pressing a kiss to her lips. She giggled.

"Normal person? Just about." She said, eyeing his smart grey suit up and down. He'd recently changed the hair on his glamour; longer at the front, and undercut. He was a vain thing, and she loved him for it. "Go, have fun. I'll miss you."

"I'll be home tonight." He said firmly, his hand on her stomach. "How could I keep away?"

"Don't wake me up, or the wedding's off." Sarah said warningly; she had required a huge amount of sleep lately, feeling utterly exhausted. The idea of being woken up by an intoxicated, and properly overly affectionate, Jareth did not appeal to her.

"I'll sleep on the couch." He promised. He bent down to her stomach, and kissed the material of her t-shirt. "Look after your mother, kids. Daddy's going out on the piss."

"God you are so English sometimes." Sarah said with a roll of her eyes.

"And you are so American. One of the many reasons I love you." He told her, cradling her face in his hands. He kissed her deeply, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in. After a while, she pushed him back.

"Go on, before you seduce me."

"Before? I was hoping I already had."

* * *

"Mate, you are wasted." Leon, one of Jareth's friends from hundreds of years ago, said. He had been living in London too long, and sounded entirely Cockney.

"N-no I'm not." Jareth slurred, taking another drink from the bottle he was clutching. He wasn't quite sure what was in it, but it was very good. "I am perfectly fine."

"We should go home, before this one ends up falling off." Leon told their friend, jabbing a finger in Jareth's direction.

The sun was beginning to rise, and if anyone had bothered looking up, they would see three men swigging wine whilst sitting on the dome of St Paul's Cathedral as if it was a park bench. Their glamours had been removed, the concentration required to hold them impossible in their states.

"Jareth, are you alright getting home?" Benny, asked. These friends of Jareth's rarely went Underground, and lived entirely human lives. Except, of course, for using their powers to get to the top of London landmarks. They didn't hold much respect for royalty, and that's why Jareth liked them.

"Home?" He asked with a frown. "Which one?"

"Whichever one Sarah's at. Where is she?" Leon asked him, as Jareth thought about the question.

"London." He replied, his head sagging. "I better go then. Wish me luck."

"One of us is taking you. We don't want a repeat of 1764."

"Wha' happened in 1764?" Jareth asked with a frown. He was so drunk that his eyes couldn't focus on anything.

"You tried to take yourself to bed after a long night, and ended up stark naked in the House of Commons."

"Ha, tha' was funny!" Jareth said, and Leon rolled his eyes.

"I'll take him. Eyes shut buddy."

They turned up in the quiet hallway of Jareth and Sarah's house. Leon deposited him on the stairs and left straight away. Jareth crawled up the stairs, knowing that he was meant to be sleeping on the sofa. Entering the living room, he saw the sofa was already occupied.

Sarah had fallen asleep reading something for work, the book still open on her chest. Jareth shook her awake gently, and she groaned.

"Hmm? Oh, you're home." She smiled sleepily.

"You should be in bed." He told her seriously, and she laughed.

"You're absolutely hammered, aren't you?" She asked, yawning. "Thanks for waking me, any longer on there and my neck would be agony. Come on then, let's go to bed. I'm taking the stairs, and so are you."

"I love you. I love you so much." He told her, nuzzling into her hair.

"Thanks babe. I love you too."

He knelt down until his face was level with her stomach. Sarah laughed and rolled her eyes, running her fingers through his long hair.

"And I love you, and you."

"They love you too, I'm sure."

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Sarah went to answer it. A familiar face stood on the doorstep, clutching a gift wrapped in pink paper.

"Hello Sarah."

"Irene. Nice to see you. Thank you for coming!" Sarah said, accepting a quick hug and air kiss on both cheeks.

"Pleasure." The woman replied, her smile sickly sweet. She was impeccably made up, and Sarah felt a little scruffy in her loose denim dress and makeup hastily applied to cover her markings. "What a wonderful house you have here. Full of character."

"Thank you. Jareth's owned it for a long time." Sarah stopped herself, realising her fiancée was only meant to be thirty six. "He inherited it from his grandparents."

"Lovely. Is he here? I'd love to meet him before the wedding. Toby and your father went straight to the hotel, your father asks if Jareth wants to join them for dinner whilst his house is full of women."

"Yeah he is, I'm sure he'd love to go to dinner with them. He's upstairs with my mom, they're decorating the living room."

Linda and Irene had never met before, and Sarah was absolutely dreading it. Linda was so dramatic, and Irene so prim and proper, that Sarah was expecting a full on cat fight before the evening was out.

They walked up the stairs to the living room, and Sarah took a deep breath, pushing open the door.

"Sarah! You weren't supposed to come in yet!" Linda said sullenly, her hand full of balloons tied together.

"Sorry, sorry. It all looks very nice, anyway." Sarah said, looking around. The room had been decorated in white crepe paper, balloons and fairy lights. It looked lovely, if a little tacky. "The room almost looks bigger."

She narrowed her eyes at Jareth in the corner, and he raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise.

"Does it?" He asked lightly, looking around innocently. "How odd. Does this banner look striaht?"

"Hmm. Anyway, Mom, this is Irene." Irene stepped forward to shake Linda's hand, and Sarah frantically mouthed "be nice!" behind her stepmother's head.

"Nice to meet you Irene." Linda said, and Sarah noticed the subtle flick of her eyes up and down, checking out this woman who was now married to her ex.

"And you Linda." The other woman said, rather stiffly. Sarah knew that Irene didn't have much respect for Linda's decision to run off and abandon her daughter. Whatever Sarah's problem with Irene, she couldn't deny how much the woman loved her son. She had done her best to be nice to Sarah, she supposed, but she had no chance in ever winning her over.

Jareth wandered over to the trio, and waited for the two women to stop glaring at each other.

"I'm Jareth." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "A pleasure to meet you."

"And you.. Toby's told me so much about you." Irene said. "He can't wait to see you."

"Irene wanted to know if you want to go join Dad and Tobes for dinner."

"A marvellous idea! Where are they?"

Irene handed him the business card for the hotel they were staying in, and he looked briefly at it.

"Wonderful. I'll head there now, and leave you ladies to it. Enjoy darling." He pressed a chaste kiss to Sarah's lips, and left the room.

Sarah stood in the room, watching as her mother and stepmother eyed each other up, neither saying a word.

"So," Sarah said, breaking the silence. "This should be fun!"

* * *

"Thanks for coming, Alison. It was great to see you." The evening was winding up now, and everyone except for Sarah was completely drunk. The English did Hen nights rather than bridal showers, and everyone had shown up clutching wine as a gift. Sarah told them she wasn't drinking so close to the wedding, but she saw a few women sneak a glance at her stomach.

"A pleasure. See you Sunday!"

She shut the door, leaning against it. The noise coming from upstairs was deafening, and someone was playing Wham! on full volume. It had all gotten rather raucous, and it was funny for a while but now Sarah just wanted to sleep.

Jareth appeared in front of her, making her jump.

"Sorry sweetheart. How was it? They sound like they're having a good time."

" _They_ are. I'm exhausted. Look, my ankles are all swollen." She stuck a leg out, and he frowned down at it in concern. "It's totally normal, don't worry. I just can't seem to get them to leave."

Jareth waved a hand, and the house was suddenly quiet.

"There, they've all gone home to their own beds."

"I need to learn how to do that." Sarah said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his shoulder. "Bed? It's our last night sharing a bed as an unmarried couple."

"I really don't know why you're making me leave you tomorrow night." Jareth said grumpily, kissing her hair. "I can't sleep without you beside me."

"You'll just have to try." Sarah said firmly. "Tradition."

"Well, if tonight's our last night as a couple living in sin, I have a few sinful tricks up my sleeve." He scooped her into his arms, and vanished.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! Everyone wanted more, so there will definitely be at least three more chapters, plus epilogue. I'd love to hear from you!  
**


	23. Tying The Knot

"I'm nervous." Sarah admitted as she stared into the mirror. Her mother stood behind her, brushing her hair.

"I'd be worried if you weren't, kiddo. It'll be fine. I'm sure he's just as bad. Where is he, anyway?" She asked, as she twisted Sarah's hair up into a high bun. "D'you like that?"

"At a friend's house." Sarah explained. Jareth had actually just gone Underground for the night, and she was sure she'd seen him in the mirror for a split second in the middle of the night. "No, I want it down. I've got a little tiara thing to put at the front."

Even though the wedding was a small, low key affair, Sarah still wanted to look nice. It was the only wedding her family would see, and she wanted it to be as normal as possible. Toby and her father were downstairs, Irene was fussing over Sarah's dress in the corner and Linda was helping her with hair and makeup.

"What are you doing for flowers?" Irene asked. "I can't see a bouquet."

"Flowers!" Sarah said, banging her hand against her forehead in despair. "I totally forgot flowers!"

"It's okay sweetie, we can run out and find some." Linda said soothingly.

"I guess." Sarah said, feeling a little emotional. "I can't believe I forgot flowers. I'm such an idiot." A tear fell from her eye, and her mother wiped it away.

"Now now darling. There's no need for that. We'll sort it out. I was emotional when I was pregnant too, were you Irene?" Linda asked. Despite their slightly frosty greeting, the two were actually getting along surprisingly well.

"Oh I was a wreck. I used to cry at diaper commercials. And I was a complete scatter brain, couldn't remember to do anything." Irene said, straightening the skirt on Sarah's dress, which was hanging on the door of the wardrobe.

"What are you guys talking about?" Sarah asked, knowing the jig was up.

"Oh come on, kiddo. You're either pregnant or smuggling a melon under there. You can't hide it from moms, sweetheart." Linda said kindly, and Irene nodded.

Sarah looked down at her baggy tshirt, and sighed.

"Okay. You caught me. Have you said anything to Dad?" She asked her stepmom, who shook her head.

"Not a thing." Irene said. "I didn't want to tell him, that's your job. Toby will be excited to be an Uncle, I'm sure."

"I bet. Just don't give the game away, okay? I wasn't going to tell anyone for a couple more months."

"Why not? Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong. I just wanted to keep it secret." Sarah said dismissively. "Can we change the subject?"

"Flowers." Irene said, and Sarah cringed.

"Maybe not that subject."

"It's okay, we can just go to a store and buy some." Linda said, and Sarah shook her head.

"It's Sunday." Sarah pointed out miserably. "All the flower shops will be shut."

"We'll figure it out." Linda told her, stroking her head like she had done when Sarah was a little kid. She felt as if this was a bad omen; who forgets to arrange flowers for their wedding day?!

"Can I have a minute by myself please?" Sarah asked, sighing. The two women agreed, and left the room.

"Jareth!" Sarah called. "I need your help but you can't look at me, alright?"

Jareth appeared by her side in a moment, his hand clamped over his eyes.

"Your wish is my command, precious." His forehead wrinkled in concern. "Is everything alright? Not changed your mind?"

"It's fine, it's just I've forgotten to get a bouquet." Sarah admitted reluctantly. "And all the stores will be shut. Can you please get me something from your garden? I don't care if it's a clump of weeds, I need something to hold over my stomach."

"You forgot flowers?" Jareth asked. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could tell they would be laughing at her. His damn eyes were so expressive. "How careless."

"Shut up and get me something." She said bossily, and he grinned at her.

"Oh, you're so polite to me. What's the magic word?"

"Please." Sarah said stubbornly, and he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. She kissed his hand gratefully, wanting to save their first kiss that day for when they were man and wife.

"Fine. I'll leave them on the doorstep and ring once, alright?"

"Perfect. Thank you darling."

"Just make sure you turn up. I've waited long enough to be your husband, don't make me wait any longer."

* * *

Sarah was being laced into her dress by her mother. She had grown in several places since her first fitting, and the dress was a little snug.

"Just pull it, Mom. It'll be okay."

"If you knew you were pregnant, why didn't you buy a looser fitting gown?" Linda asked, practically yanking on the strings to make them tighter.

"Because I'm an idiot, alright Mom?!" Sarah said crossly. "Is it done?"

"I think so. Stand back, let me look at you."

Sarah dutifully stepped back, adjusting the dress around the middle. Looking in the mirror, she smiled. She really did look like a bride. She was wearing a delicate golden tiara that Jareth had given her as a wedding gift; it was like the twisted vines of the Labyrinth, and matched her engagement ring that she was wearing once again. Her whole outfit was simple, yet beautiful.

And rather tight around the middle.

"Everyone's going to know I'm knocked up." She moaned. "I don't know why I didn't think of this. My head's all over the place."

"It's fine sweetheart. We all love you, and I don't think anyone would be shocked. You two can hardly keep your hands off one another." Linda pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"That's not the point." Sarah said irritably. She looked sideways on in the mirror. "Hopefully Jareth's gotten me a really big bunch of flowers to hide it."

"Jareth?" Linda asked, frowning. "How does he know about the flowers?"

"I called him, he's helping me out with the flowers. His friend has, um, a garden."

"In December?"

"A greenhouse."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Sarah could hear Toby open the door.

"Sarah! There's some flowers here for you."

"Fantastic!" Sarah ran out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Toby stood by the front door, wearing a tuxedo that Robert had forced him into. He held out the flowers for her, and Sarah gasped.

They were the most beautiful shade of red she had ever seen, almost like blood if that wasn't such a morbid thought for her wedding day. They shimmered in the light, as though covered with dew. Each bloom was as big as her fist, and would do perfectly to cover her bump. There was a letter with it, and Sarah recognised his royal seal on the back of the envelope.

She tore it open, and read the words he had written in his scratchy hand writing.

 _My dear Sarah,_

 _I hope these flowers are sufficient for your wedding bouquet. They are not as beautiful as you, but then again what is? I can't wait to marry you this afternoon, and to start our life together as man and wife. You have given me more than I could ever dream of, and you are carrying the greatest gift any man could ever ask for._

 _Thank you for loving me, and for being my bride._

 _Jareth_

His love note was so unexpected and so sweet that she began to cry. Toby looked at her, frowning.

"He hasn't dumped you has he?" He asked, crossing his arms. Sarah hit him lightly around the head.

"No he hasn't dumped me." She told him crossly, wiping her eyes.

"Hey, what's that?" Toby pointed at her eyes, and Sarah looked in the mirror. The makeup she wore to cover her markings had rubbed off, exposing a hint of purple.

"Nothing."

"Sarah, I need to tell you somethin'" He said, kicking at the skirting board. "It's kinda important."

"Okay buddy, come in here." She ushered him into the kitchen, and put her bouquet in the sink. "What's up?"

"Jareth _is_ the Goblin King, isn't he? It's not just my dream." He said, looking at his feet. Sarah wondered what she should tell him. He was just a kid, and couldn't be trusted to keep a secret - and he shouldn't have to have that kind of pressure put on him.

"Huh? Tobes, it isn't real." She told him, feeling horrible for lying to him.

"He was in my bedroom a few weeks ago, with a lady called Juturna." Sarah hadn't heard that name for weeks; she and Jareth didn't talk about what had happened much.

"Toby, that was just a dream." Sarah said firmly, and Toby shook his head adamantly.

"It wasn't a dream! I pretended to be asleep because I was scared. She was nasty, and she wanted to kill me."

"No, she didn't really. She was just desperate." Sarah said without thinking, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Toby looked victorious.

"So it _was_ real?" Toby asked triumphantly. "I knew it wasn't just a dream!"

"Yeah, Tobes." Sarah sighed. "It was real. But you can't tell anybody about Jareth."

"You're like him, aren't you? The glittery bit on your face looks just like his."

"Yeah." She admitted, stroking his cheek. "Yeah, I'm like him now."

"Does that mean you're leaving?" Toby asked, looking upset.

"No Tobes. I'm still gonna see you just as much as I do now. I'm not leaving forever. I might have to go to the Goblin City more. Jareth and I are going to have a baby. Well, two babies."

"I know." Toby said, rolling his eyes like it was obvious. "I told Dad that, but he said maybe you just got fat."

"Thanks." Sarah said, trying not to laugh. "Well, I better go fix my makeup. Want to see something cool?"

"Yeah."

"Close your eyes." She touched Toby on the shoulder, and took them both to her bedroom.

"Woah, that's awesome! Even the Ninja Turtles can't do that!"

* * *

"You ready kiddo?" Sarah and her father stood at the entrance to the room used for weddings within the registry office. It was a beautiful building, with Gothic architecture, and felt a little more glamorous than some of the more modern buildings used for the same purpose.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm ready."

Her father gave a nod to the person standing outside the door, and it opened. Sarah's heart hammered in her chest as a slightly tinny recording of "Here Comes the Bride" began to echo through to the hall way.

Jareth stood at the far end of the room, next to the registrar, dressed in a sharp blue suit. He wasn't looking at her yet, but she could see he was twisting his hands nervously. She took her first step into the room, her father holding her arm tightly. He had tears in his eyes, and she squeezed his hand and smiled at him. She would never have imagined a year ago that her father would willingly walk her down the aisle.

Every head was directed at her, and she could see the small crowd gathered there were all smiling at her from their seats. There were around thirty people there, and even though the group was small, so was the room - it looked full to bursting. Sarah felt lucky to have a room full of all the people she loved. She wished Jareth's parents could be there, but knew that they would have their own moment to see their son get married.

Jareth turned to look at her, and the expression on his face was one that almost made her cry. He looked so happy, like he could hardly believe that she was walking towards him. His grin was so wide that his eyes were almost shut. He was the only person she looked at then, her eyes locked on the man she loved more than she thought possible.

When they reached Jareth, Sarah turned to kiss her father on the cheek.

"Thank you, Daddy." She whispered in his ear, and he gave her a fierce hug.

"Be good to her, Jareth." He said before he turned to take his seat in the front row. Jareth shook his hand and smiled.

"Of course, sir."

Jareth took Sarah's hand, and kissed it briefly. She smiled at him, feeling unable to do anything else but smile broadly. They had finally made it, and she was sure she would be smiling forever.

"You look ravishing." He said quietly, as the music stopped. He held her hand so tightly it was turning white, and she squeezed it. He loosened his grip a little, but he was holding onto her as though she would run away.

The registrar, a short balding man, began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to witness the marriage of Jareth Hefyed King and Sarah Martha Williams. This place where we are now has been duly sanctioned according to law for the celebration of marriage. This ceremony will unite Jareth and Sarah in marriage. We are here to celebrate their union, and their commitment to each other. Today, they will proclaim their love for one another. If anyone knows of any just law or impediment that prevents their marriage, they should speak now."

The pair waited in slightly anxious silence as the registrar paused to allow anyone to speak up. Jareth was sure if anyone so much as coughed he would kill them.

"Jareth, please repeat after me. I, Jareth Hefyed King."

"I, Jareth Hefyed King."

"Do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment."

"Do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment."

"Why I should not be joined in marriage with Sarah Martha Williams."

"Why I should not be joined in marriage with Sarah Martha Williams."

Sarah did the same, wondering if it was a legal imedimpent that Jareth wasn't actually human, and neither was she.

"That's the nerve wracking part done with." The registrar joked, and there was a ripple of laughter in the room. "Now, Jareth and Sarah will exchange vows. Repeat after me. I, Jareth Heyfed King."

"I, Jareth Heyfed King."

"Do take thee, Sarah Martha Williams."

"Do take thee, Sarah Martha Williams."

"To be my lawful wedded wife."

"To be my lawful wedded wife."

"To have and to hold, from this day forward."

"To have and to hold, from this day forward."

"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health."

"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health."

Sarah took her turn, each word getting harder to say as she struggled not to cry. She was so happy, she couldn't quite believe they were standing next to one another making these vows that would bind them for life. They were already bonded in a way nobody in the room could comprehend (well, except for the dozen or so Fae who knew full well what was going on).

"Do you have the rings?"

Sarah suddenly realised that Jareth didn't have a best man. She really had done a hopeless job of organising this wedding, and she hoped to God that Jareth had the rings in his pocket. Jareth turned to the congregation, and Sarah was pleasantly surprised to see Toby stand up and hand the rings to Jareth. The two gold bands almost glowed against Jareth's pale skin, and Sarah knew they were made of Fae gold.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love." Jareth told her sincerely, looking her straight in the eyes. "This ring is a reminder that I will always love you, that I will always support you, no matter what happens. I would move the stars for you, and only for you. The most precious thing in my life."

He slipped the ring onto her finger, and Sarah smiled at the pleasant warmth that spread throughout the digit. She looked up at him, and said her vows as she put his ring on his finger.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. This ring is a representation of our love, eternal and unending. I promise that I will always love you, never fear you. I will stand by your side through good times and bad, through times when we feel as though all is lost. I love you." She said sincerely.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce you as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Jareth pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, perhaps a little too enthusiastically considering the congregation contained her parents and most of her work colleagues. By the time he pulled away from her, Sarah had turned a vibrant shade of pink and looked a little dazed.

"Sorry love." He said sheepishly as music began to play. "I got a little carried away."

* * *

Later that night, as the reception raged on to the early hours of the next day, Sarah and Jareth danced together in a quiet spot. The party was getting raucous, and more and more Fae were turning up. Jareth was a King, after all, and had many friends. Sarah noticed Linda dancing with one of Jareth's cousins. Jeremy must be out of the picture again, Sarah thought.

Robert, Irene and Toby had left an hour or so ago at midnight; Toby was exhausted, having worn himself out doing stupid dancing. Even the Fae loved the Birdy Song, it turned out.

"Wife." Jareth said fondly, nuzzling her ear as they swayed to the distant music. "My wife."

"Husband." Sarah smiled. She yawned, the long day taking it's toll.

"Are you tired, love?" Jareth asked, and one hand snaked down to her stomach, rubbing it gently.

"A little. Don't take me home, I don't want it to end." Sarah said wistfully; the reception had been perfect, relaxed and fun, just as she wanted it. She could barely let go of Jareth, though her mother had wrestled him away from her to dance more than once. Sarah had had to slap Linda's hands off Jareth's ass twice.

"I have to take you home." He said firmly, nibbling her ear.

"Why?" She asked, as he pulled her closer. She couldn't fit flush against him now, the bump getting in the way.

"Because if you fall asleep here, how can we possibly consummate our marriage?" He asked devilishly into her ear. "I think we should do it twice, just to make sure."

"You are incorrigible." Sarah swatted his shoulder, and he kissed her deeply.

"You married me knowing full well I can't resist you. Your dress is utterly beautiful, but not as beautiful as you."

"Everyone knows I'm pregnant." Sarah said, sighing. "I'm showing more than I thought I would."

"You look lovely, dearest. At least we can show the twins that they were in our wedding photos." He said teasingly, spinning her around. She laughed, and grabbed his other hand, twirling them around together. Nobody bothered coming near them; any idiot could see that they were totally consumed in one another.

"I'm going to be huge at our other wedding. When's the date?" Jareth hadn't wanted to bother her with much to do with their Underground wedding; he wanted her to have normality, even now she was Fae. Arethusa was dealing with everything anyway, and Sarah was happy to let her.

"I would hazard a guess that everything will be arranged in about a month, a month and a half maybe. I thought we could spend a few weeks beforehand Underground introducing you to everything and learning some royal etiquette. We can tell everyone up here that it's our honeymoon."

"Alright. I was going to hand in my notice soon anyway." Sarah shrugged as the song ended. Jareth didn't let her go, and he swept some hair out of her face.

"If you're sure. I still want you to try and get that book of yours published, though. Don't give up on that dream."

"I won't. I feel like I've had too many dreams come true already, though. Maybe that one isn't meant for me." Sarah said dismissively as Jareth moved her around in a circle. It was hard to have a serious conversation whilst dancing.

"Nonsense, darling. You deserve all your dreams."

"We'll miss Christmas though." Sarah said sadly. "I love Christmas. I was kind of hoping we'd go see Toby."

"We can, of course. It's only two weeks away, and we can pop backwards and forwards if needed."

"Can we get a tree? We didn't even have dinner last year, we just got trashed on wine. At least I can't do that this year." She said, rubbing her belly fondly. "I'd like the babies to celebrate human holidays. We missed Thanksgiving this year." Sarah hadn't felt in the mood to celebrate that particularly holiday.

"We can do whatever you'd like with the children. However, if they are mortal, I'd like to teach them the Fae tongue. It will help them in the long run."

"I still can't speak it." Sarah said, telling him something he already knew. "I don't think I'm getting that power."

"It will come, love. You're not missing much. I'll still speak English to you anyway."

"Good. I like your accent too much for you to stop."

"I'm glad. Although I like to think I sound sexy in any language." Jareth said, his lips quirked in a smile.

Sarah laughed, kissing him playfully.

"Say something to me now then." She whispered in his ear. "And then take me home."

 _"Ri traculagh y mentala, eterna."_

"That sounds like something you just made up." She laughed, nibbling on his ear in the way he loved. "What does it mean?"

"I love you very much, wife." He told her tenderly, his hand on her lower back.

"What's the word for wife?"

" _Eterna_."

"That's cute." Sarah said. "I like being your wife. How do I say husband?"

" _Eterni_."

"My _eterni_ for eternity." She said, pulling him to her and kissing him hungrily. "Take me home."

* * *

 **A/N: Some of the vows are the real vows used (credit to Haringey council for putting those in a pdf that I could read), others are original to me.  
**

 **Thanks for all your continued support, I'd love to hear from you!**


	24. Visiting Hours

Sarah spent her first morning as Mrs King hunched over the toilet.

"I feel so sick." She groaned, clutching her stomach. Jareth was lying on the bed, banned from going into the bathroom. "Why do I feel so sick? Check me again."

"Darling, everything feels fine with your magic, and you have a scan booked for tomorrow. I think you're just exhausted." Jareth said, and Sarah retched again. "It will ease, just try and rest."

"This wasn't how I imagined starting our married life tog-" Her words were interrupted as she was sick again, and Jareth winced. He hated seeing her unwell, but unfortunately that was part and parcel of being a woman, even a Fae one.

"Can I get you anything love?" He asked, wishing he still had a physician that could help her. There were doctors at the High Court, but he didn't like to bother them when they were busy with Alaric.

"Some water." Sarah choked out. "And some scissors to cut your dick off."

"Now now, Sarah." He said lightly, wincing slightly at her coarse language - and placing a hand protectively over his groin. "You'd miss it once it was gone."

"It's what did this to me!" She moaned dramatically, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll get you your water, dear. And I'll hide any sharp implements, just in case."

He disappeared downstairs, filling a glass with water. He was concerned about their scan tomorrow - she was twenty weeks gone according to the doctors, and her due date would be sometime in April 1993, if she carried to term, which was unlikely with twins. Jareth knew the babies were mortal - whatever Juturna had given her had ensured that. Sarah was far too big to be carrying Fae children, even twins. They may have started as Fae, but Juturna's interfering had turned them mortal, and it seemed that they were growing just as human children would.

He had been frantically trying to figure out how to restore their magic to them, but there was nothing in any of books, and nobody could tell him what to do. He wondered if he could use the same methods he did with wished away children, but those babies hadn't been enchanted before they were even born, so who knew if it would work. He just hoped that they would be well, and anything else would just sort itself out.

Sarah wasn't aware of just how sure he was that the babies were mortal, and she thought there was still a chance that they would be Fae. The whole thing confused her, and she was trying to push it out of her mind. Like Jareth, all she cared about was that her children were healthy.

* * *

"Sarah Williams?"

Sarah hadn't had a chance to change her name yet, and her hospital records were all in her miaden name. She and Jareth stood up, and walked into the doctor's room. There was the ultrasound machine already set up, and Sarah climbed onto the couch. She had had a private scan after the whole Juturna business, and this was her 18 week scan.

She was nervous, her heart thumping in her chest. She was hoping the babies were small, because that would indicate they were growing at the Fae rate, but then at the same time she felt awful for hoping her babies were tiny. A healthy set of twins was all she wanted, and any complications could be ironed out later. That's what she kept telling herself.

As the sonographer put gel on her stomach, she squeezed Jareth's hand, and he stroked her hand with his thumb, trying to calm her nerves.

"Right, let's have a look at them." The sonographer said with a smile as she ran the scanner over Sarah's stomach. "Give me a minute to find them."

Sarah watched the screen in anticipation of seeing her babies, and when the familiar sound of their heartbeats echoed through the speaker, she beamed. This was all that mattered, she told herself.

"Nice strong heartbeats. They haven't grown much from last time, but they were on the big side at fourteen weeks, so I wouldn't be too worried. We'll keep an eye on their growth. They don't have much room in there. Would you like to know the sexes?"

"You can tell already?" Jareth asked - the Fae had no technology like this, and even though he had lived Above for a long time, he wasn't that familiar with ultrasounds or babies.

"I can. I can see right now, but if you don't want to know, I don't have to tell you."

"I'd like to know." Sarah said, turning to Jareth." But if you don't want to.."

"No, let's find out." Jareth said firmly, and Sarah smiled gratefully at him.

"Well, I can see Baby A" she pointed to the blurry baby at the front "is a little boy. Let me just try and get Baby B clearly."

"A boy." Jareth said in wonder, and Sarah looked up at him. He was slack jawed, his eyes full of tears. "We're having a son."

"And there's Baby B." The sonographer said. "I can see this one is a girl. One of each. Congratulations!" She said enthusiastically, and Sarah murmured her thanks, unable to look away from the screen.

Sarah was sure he saw his expression harden, just for a second, and he wondered if he was thinking of Juturna.

"Marvelous." Jareth said, kissing Sarah's forehead. "Just marvelous."

After they left the appointment, they sat in their living room in an uncomfortable silence. Jareth hadn't said much since leaving the hospital, and Sarah felt uneasy. She sat cross legged on the sofa, her belly making her feel a little like Buddha. Jareth sat at the other end, his legs on her lap. He was reading a book, and looking decidedly miserable.

"Are you happy?" She asked, frowning. Jareth looked up from his book and scowled at her, looking a little offended.

"Of course I'm happy." He said, rather snappily. Sarah flinched at his tone, and he sighed. "I'm sorry. Yes, I'm happy. I'm just thinking."

"You're thinking about Juturna, aren't you?"

"Don't say her name." He snapped at her, and Sarah tried to touch his arm. He shook her hand off, and she frowned at him.

"They won't end up like you and her, Jareth. We'll love them-"

"My parents loved us, they gave us everything we could ask for." Jareth interrupted her. "And still it ended with my sister trying to kill me. If they ended up like that, I'm not sure I could stand it. I know how my mother feels now."

"If they're mortal," Sarah said quietly, "There wouldn't be the same struggle for the throne. Any children we had after them would stand to inherit, wouldn't they? The twins would age and die like humans."

"I will find a way to give them magic." Jareth said firmly, and Sarah could see he was getting angry. "They will still be half Fae biologically, at the very least. And you weren't even fully human when we conceived, so who knows what will happen. Perhaps they will not be human, just powerless Fae. Their lifespan could still be the same. I'm sure that there will be a way to restore their magic. I don't wish to discuss this!"

"I wish to discuss it!" Sarah said sharply. "They are my children too and I wish to know exactly what will happen!"

"I don't know what will happen, that's the point!" Jareth shouted, his shoulders sagging with defeat. He got up and walked to the window, gripping the sill until his knuckles turned white. "She has won, hasn't she?! They may be alive but they will be powerless, never able to go Underground. We will have to watch them age, they will die when they are still meant to be children!"

"We will fix it." Sarah said, moving over to him and wrapping her arms around his back. "You will find a way."

"I don't know if I can." He admitted quietly, turning to embrace her. Sarah felt a tear fall from her eye. "I wanted to believe I could, but I don't think I will be able to. Wished away babes can be changed because they are entirely human and are pliable. Ours will be tainted with dark magic."

"It will be okay." Sarah said, not wanting to ask any more questions. He looked broken. "It has to be okay."

* * *

"Sarah dear! How wonderful to see you again!" Arethusa hugged her tightly, and pushed her back to look at her properly. "Haven't you grown?! May I touch?"

"Um, yeah. Sure." Sarah said as her mother in law placed a hand on her stomach. "We had a scan yesterday, they're looking healthy."

"A scan?" Arethusa asked in confusion.

"It's a human thing, mother. It allows the doctor to see inside the uterus." Jareth told her. "They can even say with relative certainty that we are having a boy and a girl."

"Oh!" Arethusa said happily, hugging Sarah again. "Oh, how lovely! Have you thought of names yet?"

"Um, not really." Sarah said, shrugging. "Jareth told me a while ago that Fae names are unique?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking. There are certain names that do the rounds, and I believe it's becoming harder to think of unique names. You just choose one you like, dear. They'll be royalty, everyone will know who they are even if someone else shares their name."

"We'll wait to meet them to name them, I think." Jareth said firmly. "I'd like to look at their faces first. Where is Father?"

"He is away, the Elves are growing restless and he has gone to speak with them."

"Where is Alaric?" Sarah asked. "I'd like to see him."

"He's in his nursery. He's become quite a lovely little boy, he's grown since you last saw him. Come." Arethusa linked her arm with Sarah's, and they both vanished.

Jareth took himself to the nursery, and smiled when he saw Sarah holding Alaric.

"He looks so much better!" Sarah said happily, kissing his head. "Look at these chubby little wrists. Oh, he's so cute!" She cooed. "Yes you are! Yes, you are!"

The baby grabbed her finger and put it in his mouth, and she laughed. He was wearing nothing but a cloth diaper, and Sarah pressed a kiss to his fat little belly.

Jareth went to look at the child; his face had fattened out, and his markings were sparkling. His ears were Elvish, and Jareth thought they rather suited him.

"Juturna returned his magic to him." Arethusa said quietly to Jareth, and Jareth raised an eyebrow.

"She has no magic, not anymore." Jareth said, thinking of the poison that weakened her powers. He had assumed it would eventually remove them all together. Never assume, he told himself.

"She told us about your trick with the sword." Arethusa said sternly. "You are lucky your father was feeling in a forgiving mood, or you would be punished. He gave her the antidote, and her powers have returned."

"If she gave Alaric his magic, she could do the same for ours, couldn't she? She might have done it already." Sarah asked, her eyes full of hope.

"I need to see her, mother."

* * *

"Brother. Come to gloat?" Juturna asked. She was chained to the dungeon wall by an iron cuff, and looked weak. She was thin, her long hair matted and her skin covered with dirt. Jareth was surprised her parents would allow her to become so unkempt; he would have thought their mother would insist on better treatment for her. Not that he felt sorry for her; in fact, it made him somewhat twistedly happy to see her like this.

"I've come to ask you to return my children's magic." He said, trying his hardest not to throttle her.

"No." She turned away from him, facing the other wall. Her legs were tucked under her chin, and she wouldn't look at him.

"I would be willing to offer you mercy." Jareth reasoned. "Perhaps I could even spare your life."

"Shove your mercy, I don't want it." She said, kicking at the dust on the floor.

"You will die without my mercy, the Elves will have you and it will be slow and painful. You realise that, don't you?" Jareth said irritably, and she nodded.

"Then let me die. I will die and I will take your children's magic to the grave." Her voice was quiet, but the venom in it was apparent. Jareth gritted his teeth in anger.

"You returned Alaric's magic, why not theirs?" He pressed her, feeling frustrated at her refusal to even look at him.

"Alaric is my son. I see that I was wrong to take his magic, to hurt him like that. Was I wrong to take your children's? No. I would do it over and over, just to see the look on your face. I would do it now if Father hadn't blocked my own magic."

"It's still within you, you're just not allowed to use it." Jareth said bitterly. "You have no use for their magic, it is their life force as Fae and you are crushing it! Return it to Sarah." He demanded, any attempt at patience gone now.

"I haven't had many victories, brother, but this one I will savour. Your children will be mortal, and I will laugh from my place in Hell as you watch them decay."

Unable to control his anger, he slapped Juturna hard across the face. She spat out some blood onto Jareth's foot, and laughed. She finally looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. She seemed calmer than she had been the last time they had spoken, but the madness was still there in her eyes.

"Oh brother, still talking with your fists? There is no way you can make your children truly Fae, and without power they may as well be nothing. Their magic is gone, the potion was more powerful than I even dared to hope - it took all their magic, and all their potential, in one fell swoop. That Yeg of yours is truly a genius."

"He's refusing to tell me how to reverse it." Jareth said; he hadn't told Sarah, but he had visited Yeg several times in an attempt to gain more knowledge. That slimy little toad was refusing to speak, no matter what methods Jareth used. He would be executed soon, but Jareth couldn't bring himself to sign the death warrant, not yet.

"What a loyal spy I chose." She said smugly. "If you're quite finished brother, I'd like to return to my hobby of staring at the wall. It is certainly more intellectually stimulating than talking to you."

* * *

"What did she say?" Sarah asked as she rested on their bed. They had gone back to the Goblin City, and were in Jareth's bedchamber. Jareth hadn't said anything, he had merely returned to Alaric's nursery and told Sarah that they were leaving.

"Nothing of note." Jareth said, sitting at his desk and reading a book. "You don't need to worry."

"Then why won't you tell me?" She begged him, and he sighed angrily.

"Christ, Sarah, I don't have to tell you everything." He said, his voice irritated and harsh.

"Don't you?" Sarah asked, confused at his agression. "You normally tell me everything. I hope you do, at least."

"It doesn't concern you." He flipped the pages angrily, tearing the paper.

"You're keeping secrets." Sarah said, her voice small and hurt. "We don't keep secrets Jareth. I am your wife."

"You're not my wife here. Stop whining at me." He said before he could stop himself, and Sarah got up from the bed in anger.

"If that's your attitude, maybe I'll just leave." His words had stung her; she was already feeling delicate, and to have their marriage belittled like that pissed her off. They had only been married a few days, and he was already acting like an ass. She searched for her shoes, and shoved them on her feet angrily.

"Sarah I didn't mean it." He said desperately, trying to take her shoes off. She kicked him irritably, and he moved away from her. "Don't go."

"I'm sorry, I only take instructions from my husband, and as he is apparently not here, I'm not going to listen." She said, and once her shoes were on she disappeared from view.

"Sarah!" Jareth called out angrily, but there was no reply. "Sarah, for God's sake, I didn't mean it!"

"Tough!" Her voice echoed all around him. "You can come find me when you've stopped acting like a complete tool."

* * *

Sarah felt angry, hot tears spill down her cheeks. She hated arguing with him, and she hated being lied to. Something was clearly the matter with him, and him pushing her away just reminded her how cold the Fae could be. She was one of them now, but she felt no different to how she had done as a human.

She had taken herself away in a state of high emotion, and she hadn't been concentrating. She was on the roof of their house, rather than inside it.

"Dammit." She said, trying to calm herself down and get inside. Her magic was still fresh and uneducated, and didn't work when she was emotional. She couldn't wait until she was like Jareth and could just do whatever she wanted with minimal effort.

"You haven't quite got the hang of this, have you?" A voice came from next to her, and she moved away from him, glaring at him. Jareth was still in his Fae form, and Sarah wondered what their neighbours would think of the pair of them standing on the roof.

"Get lost." She said, feeling embarrassed that she had ended up here in the first place. "I don't need you here right now."

"Sarah, I'm sorry." Jareth said pleadingly, trying to take her hand. She moved it out of his way, and turned her back on him.

"Leave me alone." She spat, turning around again as he appeared in front of her. She groaned in irritation; it was hard being in a mood with someone who had magic powers.

"I'd like to get you and our unborn children down from the roof first, if that's alright." Jareth said, sounding thoroughly amused.

"I can do it myself." She said stubbornly, just as a tile loosened from under her feet. She slipped, landing on her bottom and slipping down the roof at an alarming speed. She screamed, and Jareth touched her shoulder. They landed on their bed, and Sarah crossed her arms stubbornly. "I could have done that on my own."

"Sarah, you were about to fall fifty feet onto the pavement. I believe 'thank you' is the phrase you are looking for." Jareth said, irritated that she would put herself in danger like that.

"Thank you." She said grudgingly, turning on her side. "I'd like to go to sleep now if it's all the same to you."

"I was a tosser, I'm sorry." Jareth said, rubbing his nose on her ear. He always did this when he did something wrong, like a kitten trying to get her attention. "I need to tell you what happened."

"Yeah, you do. You have one minute. Go."

"Juturna refused to give them back their magic. She could do it as easily as waving her hand if she wanted to, but she won't. If I execute her, their magic is lost forever. If I keep her alive, the Elves will revolt and she _still_ won't give them their powers."

"Something will work out." Sarah said, turning to hold Jareth. "It has to."

"Does it?" He asked. "I let you down. These are our first children, this should be the most joyous time of our lives. It is ruined, by her."

"Not ruined. Just different to how we planned. It's alright." Sarah said, trying to be optomistic. "Is that all?"

"You were right. I'm worried they'll turn out like me and Juturna. Very worried indeed."

"They'll be fine."

"Juturna and I were fine, once upon a time. Now I am preparing to execute her."

"It's an awful situation, but it's down to her, not you."

"She is my blood." Jareth said quietly.

"She is your blood, but there is evil inside her. You can see it. Our children will be good. We will make sure they are happy, and that they love one another."

"What if, by some miracle, they are Fae. If the girl is born first, will she feel the same resentment to her brother that Juturna felt to me? He stands to be the High King someday, it would be hard for our daughter to see that slip away from her just because she was born the wrong gender."

"Jareth, they will be children for a long time. We don't have to tell them what the future holds. If we treat them equally, along with any other children that might come along, that's all we can hope for." Sarah said, and suddenly gasped, and her hand flew to her stomach.

"What? What is it?"

"I can feel them." She said, placing her hand on her stomach. "They're moving." Jareth put his hand on her stomach, but couldn't feel anything, just warm skin.

"I can't feel it."

"It's not strong enough for you to feel." Sarah said, staring down at her rounded tummy. "It feels more real suddenly."

"It is real." Jareth said, kissing her stomach. "It is real."

* * *

 **A/N: Bit more plot in this chapter! Pregnancy details are all from google - I've had a few comments about her bump, I just googled "18 weeks pregnant with twins" and the bumps were all fairly noticeable.**

 **Language questions - the Fae language is based phonetically on Welsh, though I've pretty much just made it up.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review!**


	25. A Merry Little Christmas

"Happy Christmas Eve Sarah!" Toby said, rushing downstairs in new pyjamas. They had just arrived from London; Sarah wanted to spend a little time with her mom before they went to see Toby. It was getting late, and Toby would be going to bed soon.

"Happy Christmas Eve buddy. You got your stocking ready for Santa?" She asked him, ruffling his damp hair. He nodded enthusiastically, hugging her mid section. His head rested on her stomach, and she smiled down at him happily.

"Uhuh, it says my name right at the top. Dad showed me yours from when you were a kid." Toby told her, and Sarah remembered how excited she used to be on Christmas morning.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. What do you want for Christmas?" Sarah asked, hoping he would say at least one of the things that she had frantically searched Toys R Us for the week previously.

"I want these new action figures where their heads go inside their bodies! Man, that looks so cool." Toby said, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Have you been a good boy?" Sarah asked, kneeling down to his level. He was so cute when he was like this, it made her even more excited to have kids of her own.

"Uhuh, I even helped Mrs Kleinerman with her groceries the other day." Toby told her proudly.

"You did? That's nice, Tobes. I'm sure you'll be on the nice list then. Right, up to bed then."

Irene and her dad had run out the door as soon as they'd arrived, saying they had to go to a Christmas party but that they'd be back in an hour. Sarah was in charge, just like when she was a teenager. At least she definitely wouldn't wish him away to a Goblin King this time. In fact, this time the Goblin King was helping her babysit.

"Where's Jareth?" Toby asked; he'd been busy changing for bed and hadn't seen them arrive.

"He's just fixing the tree, the lights went out on it."

"With magic?" Toby asked, his face lighting up.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's just twisting all the bulbs until they work again. Go say goodnight."

Toby ran into the living room, and skidded on the wooden floor until he stopped at Jareth's feet. He threw his arms around his waist, and Jareth smiled in surprise. Her husband was dressed in baggy trousers and a tight shirt, and Sarah loved to see him look so normal (although only every now and then; it was odd seeing him in such loose pants).

"G'night Jareth!" Toby said, still hugging him. "Do Goblin Kings even have Christmas?"

Jareth looked at Sarah, confused, and Sarah remembered she'd completely forgotten to tell him about the conversation she had had with Toby on their wedding day.

"It's okay, love. He knows that it's real, he saw my markings, he remembers your sister." Sarah tried not to say her name, knowing that it put him in a bad mood.

"Oh." Jareth said in surprise. He picked Toby up and placed him on his back. "Yes Goblin Kings have Christmas, and I'm hoping for another Ninja Turtle to add to my collection. Come on chap, let's get you into bed!"

"I want to see your funny hair!" Toby said as Jareth carried him off towards the stairs. Sarah laughed and followed them. She watched in wonder as Jareth changed, into a grey shirt and black pants. His hair grew long, tinged with red at the ends - red for Christmas, Sarah assumed.

"There." Jareth said, putting Toby down on the staircase. "What d'you think?"

"Are you wearing lipgloss?" Toby asked, leaning closer to inspect his brother in law's lips, and Jareth picked him up and turned him upside down. Toby squealed loudly, and Sarah stood watching, laughing so much her stomach hurt.

"There's nothing wrong with a little chapstick." Jareth said smoothly. "Bed, before I suggest dear old St Nick put you on his naughty list!"

* * *

A few hours later, Sarah and Jareth lay in her old room. The bed was kind of small for both of them, but it would be too complicated with time zones to go back to London for the night. They lay pressed together, naked in one another's arms.

"It's kind of weird doing it in my old bedroom." Sarah admitted. "Especially when I'm pregnant. And married. I never imagined being so grown up, this room makes me feel like a kid again."

"I'm not used to having an audience of teddy bears." Jareth said, running his fingers through her hair lazily. "I've probably scarred the poor things for life."

"Toby's so excited about Christmas, it's adorable. I definitely want our kids to have Christmas. Imagine seeing their faces light up over a new bike or something." Sarah said, running her hand over her belly fondly.

"I can't wait." Jareth kissed the tip of her nose. "What have you got me for Christmas?" He asked with a grin.

"Nuh uh, not telling you. You'll just have to see if you made the naughty or nice list."

"Oh, I am definitely on the naughty list." He purred into her ear, running his hand down her body. She batted him away, laughing.

"A lump of coal it is then."

"I've got you something." He said, and he waved his hand. A long, rectangular wrapped gift appeared in his hand, and Sarah smiled.

"It's not Christmas yet."

"It's after midnight. So, yes, it's Christmas. I have something to give you in front of your family, but this is a little private."

"It's nothing gross, right?" Sarah asked as she took it from him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Gross? What on Earth would I give you for Christmas that's gross?"

"I don't know, like a whip or something?"

"No. I do have a riding crop, if you're curious to try it out."

"Shut up." She said, untying the bow.

"That wasn't a no.." Jareth said, kissing her neck suggestively.

"Jareth." She said warningly, whilst trying not to laugh. "Enough. Let me open my gift."

Sarah tore open the paper, and lifted the lid off the box it covered. She saw a beautiful, golden hand mirror.

"It's beautiful." She lifted it up and stared into it. She still couldn't used to the sight of her markings, and she looked at them whilst Jareth stroked her cheek. It was funny seeing the band on his left hand, too. There was a lot to get used to.

"It's rather special. I know your crystals can't really see anyone yet, but the mirror will allow you to. Just think of who you would like to see, and write their name with your finger on the glass. They will appear."

"That's so thoughtful." Sarah said. "I don't know who else I'd want to see aside from you."

"You can use it as a normal mirror if you really wish, darling." Jareth said, kissing her softly.

"Thanks baby, that's so nice. I didn't even know what to get you; what do you get for the King who has everything?" She asked; Jareth still hated her calling him baby, but when she was so happy he was willing to let it slide.

"You've given me enough." He stroked her belly, and then brought her left hand to his mouth and kissed the rings that glinted in the darkness. "You've given me your hand in marriage, and you're carrying my babies. I'm spoiled."

"The babies aren't a gift from me to you, they're just what our love created. And I married you because I'm crazy about you and want you all to myself for ever and ever. Those aren't gifts; they're what you deserve."

"I don't, not really. I just got lucky." He kissed her sweetly, and she wrapped her arms around him. "I love you so very much, sweetness."

"I love you more." She said, closing her eyes. "We better put some clothes on, if Toby comes running in here in the morning we're going to scar the poor kid for life."

"What was that about my sister earlier?" Jareth asked, his voice turning serious. He waved a hand and they were both dressed in nightwear.

"He was awake when you were in his room with her. He heard everything, and he knows you're the real deal. And a bit of my makeup came off so he saw my markings. He'll keep it to himself, and if he doesn't - will anyone believe an eight year old kid saying the Goblin King married his sister?"

"I suppose not. I'm just sorry he had to be near her, the poor lad must have been terrified." Jareth said, thanking his lucky stars that he'd blocked Juturna's magic. If she'd been at full power, anything could have happened to him.

"He's okay, he's a tough little cookie. After all, he survived a kidnap when he was a baby." She said, jabbing Jareth in the ribs teasingly.

"Kidnap?" Jareth laughed. "You asked me to take him, love. Let's not get into semantics again. He's the reason we're together."

"He's the reason we _met._ " She said pointedly. "Not the reason we're together."

"Of course. The reason we're together is that you find me utterly irresistible and can hardly keep your hands off me. Really Sarah, I'm not a piece of meat."

* * *

"Merry Christmas Sarah!" Toby came bouncing into the room, and Sarah opened one eye. It was still dark, and she could see a digital clock on her old hifi blinking 5AM.

"Hey Tobes." She said thickly, sitting up. She was used to him waking her up early, but Jareth slept on. They didn't need as much sleep anymore, but they still needed at least four or five hours a night.

"Look at all the stuff I got!" He was lugging his Christmas stocking in behind him. It was small, and Sarah knew that his big gifts were in the living room. This one was probably just full of Ninja Turtles.

"Kiddo, you should wait for Mom and Dad to open it. Plus Santa probably left you some stuff under the tree too." Sarah yawned, rubbing her eyes. Her markings were uncovered, as were Jareth's - who still had his long hair. She hoped her Dad wouldn't come in.

"Just one?!" Toby begged. "They said I can't go into their room until the little hand's on the six."

"Alright. Just one. Come on then." Toby climbed onto the bed and sat cross legged at Sarah's feet. Jareth stirred, sitting up.

"Good morning young Toby." He waved a hand and the lights came on, dimmer than usual. "Are we opening gifts?"

"Sarah said I can open _one_." Toby pouted.

"Well, we must do what Sarah says. Besides, you'll have lots more to open soon." Jareth reasoned with the small boy. It was funny, she'd never imagined having a Christmas morning with Jareth, but he seemed made for it. He was so good with Toby, and he seemed almost as excited as him too.

"Jareth, can you put your glamour on? Just in case Dad and Irene come in." Sarah got up and started applying makeup to her markings. "Tobes we'll do presents in one second, okay?"

"Can't you just do what Jareth does?" Toby asked, watching in amazement as Jareth's hair shrunk several inches and his eyebrows grew. "So cool!"

"One day. Not yet." Sarah said, drawing in her eyebrows. She examined her face in the mirror, then got back into bed. "Right, just one."

"I want.." Toby rummaged around in his stocking. He found a long, thin package. "This one!"

He ripped open the paper, and squealed

"Cool! It's the bubble sword!" Sarah raised an eyebrow; kids toys these days were so weird. It was a grey and green sword, the sheath covered in turtle faces, that had spaces for bubbles to come out from. Toby immediately started running around the room, leaving bubbles wherever he went.

"My bubbles are better." Jareth said, watching the little boy play. "But I suppose those are fine too."

"Bubbles?" Sarah asked with a laugh, thinking of the power contained within his crystals. "At least these are harmless."

Toby eventually got bored, and dragged his stocking into his parents room, reasoning that the little hand would _almost_ be on the six.

"We should probably get up. As soon as Toby wakes them up he's going to want to go downstairs." Sarah said, though her eyes were closing. "The babies are wriggling."

"I wish I could feel them." Jareth said, pressing a kiss to her stomach.

"Soon. They're getting stronger." She yawned. "I might just sleep for a few more minutes. Wake me up when Toby's opening gifts."

* * *

Sarah actually slept for four more hours, and Jareth refused Toby's demands to wake her up. She was looking tired, the babies were exhausting her. She was twenty weeks pregnant now, and her back was beginning to ache. Jareth tried to heal her when she would let him, though she had her own magic that should be cushioning her from any pain.

"Sorry, I fell asleep." Sarah came downstairs, dressed in a loose fitting red dress that reached her knees. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders in loose waves. The dress draped over her bump, making it look bigger than ever. Jareth looked at her with a smile; she almost looked ethereal. Pregnancy suited her.

"We waited for you." Irene said, gesturing around to the piles of gifts. "It's still only 9AM, but Toby's been running around in circles."

"Can we open gifts now?!" Toby asked, bouncing up and down.

"Sure. Sorry buddy, I was real tired." Sarah said, sitting down on the sofa next to Jareth, who was quietly drinking a cup of tea. She leaned on his shoulder, and he kissed her forehead. "You were supposed to wake me."

"You looked so peaceful." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "It would be a crime to disturb you."

Sarah watched as Toby began ripping paper off present after present, squealing with delight at each one. After he was finished, he had a huge pile of turtle themed merchandise. Sarah and Jareth had given him several items, plastic playsets that looked like a sewer that she didn't quite see the appeal of.

"This is the best Christmas ever! Jareth, I wanna give you your gift!" Toby said, running to the tree. He handed Jareth a box, and he opened it. Toby had given him the other three turtles from his collection, and Jareth smiled.

"The other three. Thanks, Toby. A lovely gift."

"I thought when the baby's big you could play Ninja Turtles with him."

"A wonderful idea. The girl can play too, of course." Jareth said, and Toby grimaced.

"Girls don't like Ninja Turtles."

"My girl will, I assure you." Jareth said, ruffling Toby's hair.

"Sarah, I got you something too!" Toby said.

"We gave him twenty dollars to buy gifts." Irene explained. "Those turtles are from his own collection, so you must have gotten a bigger share of the goods. He won't tell us what he got you."

"I didn't get her anything. I made her a picture and got Jareth to help me frame it." Toby said, pulling the gift from under the tree.

"You did?" Sarah asked him with a smile. "That's so nice."

"Here you go." Toby handed her the gift, which she unwrapped.

The large frame contained a hugely detailed drawing of the Labyrinth, guarded by drawings of Sarah and Jareth. They were holding a baby each. Toby was there too, and Sarah smiled. It was such a sweet drawing; she just hoped his parents wouldn't ask too many questions.

"That's great, Toby. I love it. I'm going to hang it right in the babies' nursery."

"Cool! Mom, Dad, I did you drawings too!"

"What did you do with the twenty dollars I gave you?" Irene asked, looking puzzled.

"Bought candy." Toby shrugged.

* * *

"That was great." Sarah sighed as they climbed into bed; she wanted to go home, but they were leaving the following day. "I missed him so much last Christmas."

"I had a wonderful time, I've never had a human Christmas before. Thanks for the gift." Sarah had given him a leather bound photo album with all of their wedding pictures in. He had given her a beautiful pair of earrings, and she planned to wear them at their Underground wedding.

"We need to go Underground soon. I feel completely unprepared for this wedding." Sarah said, tucking herself into the space under his arm. "And I'm getting bigger every day."

"You liked the wedding dress though?" Jareth had shown her a design earlier that week, and she had accepted it happily.

"Yes. I never thought I'd be getting married wearing purple." The material was to be a rich, deep purple silk. It was beautiful, but not exactly bridal.

"It's the royal colour. I'm not sure how appropriate it would be for you to wear white now, precious." He said, his fingers tracing over her bump.

"True. Purple it is."

* * *

 **A/N: A fluffy Christmas chapter for you all there. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter, Sarah will start to learn how to harness her powers and prepare for her other wedding. Do you like the alternation between fluff and plot? If there's anything you'd like to see, just let me know!  
**


	26. Jareth The Teacher

A week after Christmas, Sarah and Jareth were standing in an empty room in the castle beyond the Goblin City. He had decided to teach Sarah some basic magic control himself, figuring that it couldn't be that hard to be a teacher.

"Try and focus your magic into one spot." Jareth said, standing square in front of her. "Close your eyes and picture your magic gathering there. I suggest your hand."

Sarah held out her palm and shut her eyes. She tried to let her magic flow, imagining water coming out of a tap. She peeked with one eye, and nothing was happening.

"No looking. Try and empty your mind of all things, and just focus on the magic." Jareth instructed her firmly. He stood watching her with crossed arms, appraising her carefully.

Sarah tried to focus on the sound of her own breathing, and felt a tingling in her hand.

"Have I done it?" She asked, keeping her eyes pressed shut. Jareth laughed.

"Yes, precious. Now, twist your hand, keep that focus there. I want you to picture what you want to appear in your hand; let's say you want it to be a flower. Keep that picture in your mind."

Sarah pictured a simple daisy, fearing anything else would be far too complicated. She could feel her magic getting stronger in her hand, as though her fingertips were on fire. Then, Jareth clapped her.

"Open your eyes love." He said, and she looked down at her palm. A slightly tattered looking daisy lay in her hand, and she gave a satisfied smile. "Not bad for a first go."

"I can already make a crystal, why do I need to make a flower? What's next, pulling a coin from behind your ear?" Sarah asked as he laughed.

"This is the first step. It will make it easier for you to get things easily, just as I do. I do a lot of things the mortal way out of habit, but when we're here it won't be as easy to just go to the kitchen or things like that. So if you want water, you'll need to do that. Plus, it will make things easier once the babies arrive." Jareth reasoned. "Magic requires a great deal of practice."

"Okay, that makes sense." Sarah said, looking at the daisy. The petals were wilted. "This has seen better days."

"It's not winning any prizes at Chelsea precious, but it's sufficient. Right, now I'm going to go hide, and I want you to find out where I am." Jareth told her, and she frowned.

"What? That's too hard." She said, crossing her arms. She could always sense Jareth when he was nearby, but she wasn't sure she could do it at any distance, especially when he had the whole Kingdom to vanish in. "Aren't we a little old to be playing hide and seek? Especially you."

"Age is just a number. Come on, be a sport darling. I won't go too far." He pressed a kiss to her lips, and it tingled. She touched her lips, looking puzzled. "I even gave you an advantage; that's my magic making your lips tingle like that. It should allow you to track me. Right, go!" He vanished with a grin, and Sarah groaned.

"You're an ass, you know that right?!" She called out into the empty room. She heard a throaty laugh, and she scowled.

"Come Sarah, give it a try!" His voice echoed around her.

She shut her eyes, trying to sense him - she couldn't feel anything at all.

"This is too hard!" She shouted into thin air. "This isn't fair!"

"Sarah, just try." Jareth's voice said irritably. "It really isn't that difficult. And stop saying it isn't fair, you know what happens when you say things like that."

"Yeah, it's not hard for you! If I end up on the roof of this place you better come save me." She yelled, choosing to ignore his comment about saying it's not fair.

"Sarah, you're wasting time." Jareth reminded her, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.

"There isn't a time limit." Sarah said through her teeth, wishing he was here so they could argue in person.

"Good idea, let's set one. Find me in the next minute." Jareth said, sounding annoyingly upbeat. He loved playing games with her.

"Or what?" Sarah asked, wishing he was actually standing in front of her rather than doing his freaky voice trick.

"Or I won't tell you about the surprise I have for you later." He said, his voice smooth. Sarah loved surprises, as long as they didn't involve anything weird. Like drugged peaches or helping hands.

"Hmm." She said, pretending to think about it. She knew he was watching her using a crystal, and she made a show of trying to decide.

"Tick tock, darling. One minute from now." His voice faded, and Sarah huffed in frustration. She had no idea where to start; she couldn't sense anything.

Then, Sarah had an idea.

"Fine. See you in a minute then." She said haughtily, not even knowing if he was still listening to her.

She shut her eyes and allowed her magic to gather in her hand. She pictured the mirror Jareth had given her for Christmas, and smiled when she felt the heavy weight of it in her hand. She wrote "Jareth" on the glass, and smiled triumphantly when she saw him standing in a garden, looking at a crystal. She was watching him watching her watching him.

"Gotcha!" Now she had a visual on him, it was somehow much easier to travel to him. She shut her eyes, and when she opened them again he was standing in front of her.

"Hmm. I'll allow the use of the mirror this time, but you really do need to work on your sensing skills." Jareth told her, his arms crossed and his hand on his chin as he appraised her. "Other than that, good work."

"I have thousands of years to perfect my skills, you're just pissed I found you so quickly." She said throwing her arms around him in triumph. He lifted her up playfully, and groaned.

"You're getting heavy." She slapped his shoulder, and he put her back on the ground.

"I've got two people in here, what do you expect?" She said in faux outrage, though it didn't really bother her. She was very much under the impression that he was enjoying her new figure. "Careful, or I'll make you carry me everywhere."

"Now that _would_ be a punishment. Just kidding, darling. You know I think you're amazing, right?" He said, nuzzling her ear. "My wonderful wife."

"I'm not here, not yet." Sarah said, and Jareth pulled away from her looking hurt.

"Don't start that argument again, I said I was sorry." Jareth said defensively, kissing her neck in a further effort to make her forgive him.

"I'm not, I was just stating a fact. You need to brief me on what's going to happen at our wedding by the way, I have no idea." Sarah said; the wedding was to be in four weeks, which would whizz by Underground. She hadn't even had a dress fitting yet.

"I'll do it tomorrow. I thought I'd arrange something nice for you this afternoon." Jareth said, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her - something that was getting increasingly more difficult. He kissed her neck, nipping the skin.

"What?" Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow. "If kissing my neck is any allusion to the surprise, that's not really a surprise at all. In fact, we've already done it this morning."

"No, that's _not_ the surprise - it's hardly a surprise how much I desire you, precious. There's evidence right there." He said, running his hands over her belly. "Come, let's go to the throne room. I believe it will be waiting for you there."

He tapped her shoulder, and they were in his throne room - as were dozens of goblins. The noise was deafening, and Sarah looked at him skeptically.

"Great surprise." She said dryly, and Jareth rolled his eyes.

"For God's sake, I didn't realise they were in here. Everyone, shut up!" Jareth shouted, but the racket continued. Goblins scurried past Sarah's feet and went up to their King.

"Oooh Kingy mad!" One said, jabbing at his knees. Jareth kicked him off, and the goblin rubbed his head. The other one, a bigger one wearing a helmet that Sarah assumed was a soldier, pointed at Sarah.

"Maybe it's because human fat." The two goblins laughed hysterically, and Jareth banged their heads together.

"Hey! I'm not fat!" Sarah said defensively, realizing Jareth must not have told them about her pregnancy.

"You will respect Sarah, she's going to be your Queen in a matter of weeks. And she isn't fat, she's carrying my heirs. There will be two babies around here soon enough, you'll all have to clean up your act." The goblins all began to run around, screeching happily. Sarah was only used to seeing a few at a time, and so many in one place was a little overwhelming.

"Ooh babies! Babies!" The goblins cried, dizzy with joy. Sarah looked at Jareth questioningly, and he smiled.

"The goblins love babies. We haven't had a wished away babe since Toby, and they miss it. They're very caring creatures. Annoying, but caring." Jareth said over the din, watching as the funny little creatures danced around in celebration.

"Well at least we have babysitters all lined up then." She said with a chuckle, leaning on Jareth's shoulder..

"Hardly. I wouldn't trust this lot with a chicken." At that precise moment, a flustered chicken went running past Jareth's feet, being chased by a goblin with feathers stuck all over it. "Point proven. Really, I have no respect around here. All of you! Out!"

"Hey, watch it! Stupid goblin." Sarah heard a familiar voice, and turned around. She squealed with delight as she saw three familiar faces.

"Hoggle! Ludo! Sir Didymus!" She exclaimed - she really was surprised.

"Sawah friend." Ludo said, holding his arms out for her. She rushed over and hugged him, and each of them in turn.

"Long time no see." Hoggle said gruffly, and Sarah wondered if he was mad at him for not seeing him for such a long time. It had been complicated; at first, she hadn't wanted to see him because he reminded her of Jareth, and then when she was with Jareth, she felt embarrassed for dropping him like that.

"I'm sorry Hoggle." She said, and the dwarf looked her up and down.

"You like him now?" He asked gruffly, jabbing a chubby finger at Jareth, who was standing in the distance, watching. He didn't share the same close relationship Sarah did with these three, and they were scared of him.

"Yeah. We're getting married." Sarah said with a smile, rubbing the ring on her finger self consciously. Hoggle was making her feel nervous.

"I know, he tolds us. He didn't tells us about this though." He said, looking up at Sarah's stomach.

"Oh. Yeah, we're having twins." Sarah said awkwardly, knowing that her friends had missed out on so much - and that it was all her fault.

"Congratulations dear lady! And Your Highness." Didymus said, bowing elaborately. "I knew there must be a perfectly valid reason that you have not called on us!"

Sarah felt guilt stab at her.

"I'm sorry guys. I just got..kinda busy." She said weakly, knowing her excuse was pathetic.

"Missed Sawah." Ludo grumbled sadly, and Sarah hugged him again.

"It's okay Ludo. I'll be living here now most of the time, I'll come see you guys more. I promise." Sarah said, as Ludo stroked her hair with his enormous hands.

"I don't thinks much a' yer promises anymore, Sarah." Hoggle said. "You drop us as soon as he showed up. You'll do it again. Havin' friends ain't worth it."

His words stung her, and Jareth looked furious. Sarah turned to look at him, and shook her head, trying to tell him to let her handle it.

"I know it was a bad thing I did, and I'm really sorry. I want to make it up to you, to all of you. Will you come to my wedding?" Sarah asked, and Hoggle looked at her doubtfully.

"I dunno about that." Hoggle said. "It'll be a fancy Fae affair. They won't want the likes of us there."

"Jareth, tell him." Sarah begged her husband, and he shrugged.

"You would be welcome." Jareth said icily, and Sarah didn't think he sounded very sincere.

"Please come." She pleaded with her three friends, and Hoggle looked at her warily.

"I'll thinks about it." His arms were crossed and he turned his head away haughtily. He would come in the end, Sarah was sure, once it looked like he had done enough thinking about it.

"Ludo?" She asked, the giant creature nodded his head slowly.

"Ludo come." He growled, and Sarah beamed.

"Didymus?" Now, this one she was sure would come - he was never one to turn down anything involved with grandeur.

"I would be most honoured to attend the royal wedding!"

"Wonderful! Hoggle, come on. It would mean so much to have you there." She probed him, not wanting to wait for a response. Hoggle sighed dramatically, and Sarah knew she had won.

"All right, I'll come. But this don't mean yer forgiven just like that." He warned her, and she nodded seriously, trying to keep a straight face.

"I know." Sarah said, hugging him all the same.

* * *

The next day, Sarah and Jareth stood in the same empty room from the day before. It was hot and sunny outside, the Labyrinth in full bloom. Jareth had insisted they practice inside, away from distractions like goblins or chickens.

"I can't do it!" Sarah moaned. "My feet hurt."

"Sarah, just try. Please."

Sarah shut her eyes, and tried to focus. Opening them again, she concentrated on the apple at the far end of the room. She lifted her hand, and tried to sound firm.

"Come."

The apple flew across the room, landing in her hand.

"Marvelous! And it only took thirty two attempts." Jareth said dryly, and Sarah glared at him. "Sorry darling."

"Careful." Sarah said, taking a bite of the apple. "I'm so hungry today I might eat you."

"I'll steer clear then. But I've told you, it is important that you can summon things. Not just from thin air, but across the room too. It's all part of your education in magic control." He said, kissing her gently. She leaned in to the kiss, running her hands through his hair. His hand snaked up from her stomach to her chest, and she slapped him away.

"Can't I have a proper teacher? One who won't make fun of me all the time or try and feel me up in the middle of a lesson?" Sarah said, crossing her arms.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "You just look particularly lovely today. You're glowing."

"Probably because I'm so hot I think I might explode." Sarah said, fanning her face. "Can we finish now?"

Jareth shook his head, and Sarah groaned.

"I'm sorry love, the weather in the Underground can be a little unpredictable. We don't have seasons as such." Jareth explained with a shrug.

He was hot too, wearing a light shirt and trousers with bare feet. He wasn't used to being dressed so casually when he was in his own Kingdom, and the goblins had made a few comments about his hairy toes that had earned them a sound kicking.

"It's okay." She said, wiping her forehead. "I just don't have anymore clothes I can take off."

She had begun the lesson wearing a long sleeved top, denim skirt and tights and was now just in the vest she wore under it and the skirt.

"I think you do. This skirt is almost entirely unnecessary." Jareth purred, pulling at her waistband. She moved herself across the room, shaking a finger at him.

"That's enough. If we're having a lesson, we're doing it properly. Now, what else can you teach me or can I go and throw myself in a river?" She said irritably. Carrying two babies around in the heat was exhausting.

"There is one more thing that we need to make a start on. Pain relief. I'm concerned you're not using your healing powers properly, and when you give birth it is vital you do it without human drugs even if you're in the London hospital. They will interfere with your biology and could cause more harm than good, especially to the babes. Fae women feel very little pain because they can regulate their own bodies. You are inexperienced, and as you're giving birth in a matter of months, you'll need to perfect it by then."

"What are you, my birthing coach?" Sarah sighed. "Okay, what do I do?"

"Right, first step. You have to promise not to hit me."

"Why?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Promise!" Jareth said firmly, and Sarah didn't trust the grin on his face.

"Fine, I promise."

"Give me your arm." Jareth instructed her in his most commanding voice; something Sarah secretly found rather sexy.

Sarah stuck her arm out, eyeing him warily. He placed his hand on the skin of her forearm, and twisted it firmly. She yelped, pulled her arm away and slapped his shoulder hard.

"Oi, you promised!" He moaned, rubbing his shoulder. She had a lot more strength than she realised.

"That was before I knew you were going to give me a burn! What are you, six years old? I think that's what kids used to do at recess. Ouch!" She rubbed the skin, which had turned bright red. "What did you do that for?"

"It's the gentlest way I could hurt you." Jareth shrugged, and Sarah scowled at him.

"Why did you have to hurt me at all?" She asked in irritation, still rubbing at her arm.

"You needed a sudden pain that isn't caused by yourself. If you did it, it wouldn't hurt enough. Your uterus will be in charge, not your head, and you won't have control over how much it hurts. Unless you learn, then it should be quite manageable."

"You're an ass."

"Yes, yes." He said dismissively, kissing her forehead fondly. "Now, look at your arm. I want you to guide your magic to that spot. You have great healing powers, I know that - they're what kept me alive. Now you need to have discipline if they're going to help you get through birth."

Sarah stared down at her forearm, and tried to focus as her magic gathered and flowed in her veins. Slowly, the redness died down and the stinging subsided. After a few seconds, it was gone.

"Excellent. You are a naturally gifted healer. If you weren't going to be a Queen, I'd suggest medicine as your chosen path in life." He kissed her on the head, and she smiled.

"I'll take being a Queen. Jareth, if you ever twist my arm again I will kick you so hard in the nuts you _'_ ll feel like you're the one having a baby, okay?" She said lightly, smiling pleasantly as she delivered her threat.

"Oh Sarah, learn to be a bit more elegant with your words." Jareth winced, and Sarah rolled her eyes at him.

"Elegant? You can't think of a better way of teaching me than giving me a burn! I need a proper midwife to teach me birthing methods, not some jumped up King who has all the grace of a pre-schooler."

"Fine." Jareth admitted defeat sullenly. "I'll get you a midwife."

"Thank you. Now, I better go. Your mother wants to see me for a dress fitting." Sarah said, gathering up her clothes. Arethusa was helping her have a whole Underground wardrobe made - Sarah felt a little out of place in her Above clothes. There would also be a chance to try on her wedding dress and have it properly adjusted.

"Alright. I'm sorry about the burn, darling." Jareth said, pressing a kiss to her forearm.

"Hmm. I'll think about forgiving you. I still love you." She pulled his face to hers and kissed him delicately. He smiled against her lips.

"Good. I'll never stop."

* * *

 **A/N: I've had so many requests to bring Hoggle and co into the story, so here they are. Also, I wasn't sure if it's PC to call what Jareth did to Sarah a "Chinese Burn" but that's what it was.  
**

 **Also the bubble sword from the last chapter was real - there's a surprisingly comprehensive list of Ninja Turtle merchandise from 1992, oh the things you find on the internet..**

 **I'd love to hear from you! Don't forget, if there's anything you'd really like to see, just drop me a line.**


	27. A Royal Banquet

**A/N: This is like 6000 words long..warning for one use of strong language.**

Whilst Sarah was away at the High City, Jareth had somebody he needed to see.

"Good afternoon, Yeg." Jareth appeared in an Oubliette at the far corner of the Labyrinth. He had kept Yeg in the dungeon at first, but this was a much better place. A person could be driven mad in here quite easily, eventually forgetting who they are. Jareth wanted Yeg to remember, but it wouldn't do him any harm to roughen him around the edges first.

The Elf said nothing, cowering in the corner. Jareth eyed him with disgust; he really was a pathetic coward.

"I thought we'd resume our little chat from the other day." Jareth said with a twisted smile. "Although you've yet to start talking. We used to be so close, and now you won't say a word. What a disappointment you are, Yeg."

Jareth produced a crystal, and looked at it with interest. It contained a nightmare of Yeg's, one that he had been using to weaken him mentally. He couldn't tell Sarah about this - he didn't think she would approve of torture.

"Now, today is the day, I think. You will tell me how I can reverse what you did to Sarah. I grow tired of your games, and you are taking up space. I've been kind to you so far, Yeg. I haven't touched your body. Your mind is surprisingly strong."

"There is no way to reverse it." He said, coughing. "You can torture me all you wish, but the damage is permanent. They are closed to magic unless Juturna returns it to them by choice."

"How can I make her give it to me?" Jareth demanded, rolling the crystal around on his fingers. Yeg was terrified of this particular nightmare, and the fool was cowering in fear before him.

"You can't." Yeg stated firmly, and Jareth kicked him in fury. The Elf yelped in pain, and Jareth grinned in twisted satisfaction.

"I will!" He shouted. He tried to hide this side of him from Sarah, but he could be frightening when he really wanted to be.

"You can try, but likely all you will do is cause her to die. Your power is too strong for such a delicate procedure, you could never manage it." Yeg said, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall. "Just kill me."

"So, there is a way?" Jareth said, finally extracting some information he could use. "I suggest you share it with your King, Yeg."

"You are no King of mine." He said, and he spat at Jareth in contempt. Jareth eyed him with disgust, and threw the crystal at him.

"Enjoy your nightmare. I'll be back when you're ready to play along."

* * *

"Do you think it makes my bump look too big?" Sarah asked, frowning at her reflection. She was dressed in a huge, extravagant purple gown that puffed out at the hips. The sleeves were slim, embroidered with trailing gold thread. One of Arethusa's ladies in waiting helped Sarah turn, as she was unused to wearing such an enormous gown.

"It looks wonderful; you look so very regal. Purple is your colour."

"I'm not so sure." Sarah said doubtfully; she much preferred the simple white gown she had worn Above. This was not the Above, and this wedding would be nothing like their first one. "If you think it's fine, then it must be."

"Sarah, I know you're anxious, but there really is nothing to worry about." Arethusa said soothingly, and Sarah felt herself relax.

"I'm a human marrying a King in front of thousands of diplomats and aristocracy. What could possibly go wrong?" She said, laughing nervously.

"You're not a human." Arethusa reminded her pointedly. "You are Fae now, dear."

"I keep forgetting." Sarah said, embarrassed at her mistake. "I don't feel any different."

"It will come in time. Your magic will grow in strength and power, and you will be a good and fair Queen. Jareth chose you for a reason." Arethusa smiled at her, and Sarah tried to feel reassured.

"I guess."

"There's no guessing. You are his true soulmate."

"I feel like a girl who just got lucky." Sarah shrugged, and Arethusa tutted at her.

"It is not a case of luck, darling girl. Fate." Arethusa said from her seat, and Sarah smiled nervously. "I can feel you are uneasy, child. Tell me your worries."

"Arethusa, can I speak honestly?" Sarah asked hesitantly, and the older woman nodded. She was so kind, Sarah thought. It felt nice to have an ally.

"Of course."

"I'm worried I won't be accepted. Not by the goblins, they don't worry me at all, but by other Fae. I've only met Jareth's friends, and they've all lived above for centuries. I know he was drunk, but the things Hefeyd said, they've stayed in my mind."

"About Jareth having other lovers?" Arethusa asked, frowning. "Surely you had guessed."

"Of course. But he called Jareth a 'human lover'. He said that I was with Jareth so I could get powers; will other Fae think the same?" Sarah asked, twisting her hands together.

Arethusa shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Sarah narrowed her eyes at the Queen; for an Empath, she wasn't very good at hiding her own emotions. Sarah knew then that she had heard things that she wasn't saying.

"They do, don't they?" Sarah groaned. "That's what they think of me."

It was something she hadn't really discussed with Jareth, but she had always been afraid she wouldn't fit in. The only times she had mentioned it to him, he had dismissed her fears. She needed someone to tell her the truth.

"I have heard gossip." Arethusa confessed. "Nobody would dare say it to my face, but I have friends who tell me things. You have to understand, Jareth was a sought after match for many families, and when it was announced recently that he would take a changeling for a wife there was anger amongst the high born families who had wanted him for their daughters."

"Will they be a problem?" Sarah asked; there was enough going on with the tensions with the Elves about Juturna without Fae turning on Jareth too.

"No. They live in the High City, they are not Jareth's subjects, and they would not dare to cross the High King - or Jareth himself, for that matter. Jareth is an incredibly powerful Fae, one they would not care to anger. I'm not sure you understand just how powerful he is; he has exceptional control of his magic." Arethusa said, and Sarah could see just how proud of her son she was.

"I've seen what he can do." Sarah said, thinking of her time Underground as a teenager. "Did he create the Labyrinth?"

"No, the Labyrinth has always existed. However, I know that he made it more of a challenge - his mind was always devising more complicated traps, new twists. Even as a child he would beg his father to show him every inch of the Labyrinth, all the ways someone could fail, and then make ways to make them harder."

"Remind me to thank him for that." Sarah said irritably, remembering how he had cut her time short - he must have thought it would be truly impossible for her to defeat him.

"He is incredibly protective over you, and his spells that he cast over you whilst you were changing have stuck to you - like a cloak. They will save you from any danger posed by another Fae. It is a terrible pity he could not protect you from Elvish ways." Arethusa said, and Sarah felt sadness stab at her, before it was washed away.

"I can't talk about that." Sarah said thickly. She had not properly discussed her fears for the future with anyone; she had tried to pretend to Jareth that she wasn't worried. Really, she was worried sick. It was all she could do to not break down and cry at the thought of watching her precious babies whither and die before her eyes.

"It will turn out alright; I know Jareth has been working hard to find a solution. He's written to every wise man in the Kingdoms to try and help you, darling girl. Something will come, I know it will."

"I hope so." Sarah said weakly. "I'd like to change, if that's alright. I'm feeling a little light headed, could we save the rest of the dresses for another time?"

"Of course dear. Would you like to rest here?" Arethusa asked, and Sarah shook her head.

"I'll go back to Jareth." Sarah said, as the seamstress unlaced her dress.

"Oh, I recieved a message from him asking me to find a midwife for you. The woman I used all those years ago is still around, she really is the most wonderful midwife." Arethusa said, smiling broadly. "She gave me a great deal of invaluable advice."

"Great." Sarah said as the dress was peeled off her. With a wave of Arethusa's hand, Sarah was back in her normal clothes. "Could you send her to me?"

"I've sent word to her, I expect she will be in touch soon. I will write to Jareth and let him know what she says."

* * *

Around two weeks later, Jareth recieved an official message from the High King.

"Father wishes for us to attend a banquet tomorrow." Jareth said, standing in the middle of his study reading from a card. "In our honour. It is a tradition amongst the Fae; personally I think it's so they can all get a good look at you, the nosy bastards."

"Oh. That's kinda short notice." Sarah looked up from her reading. She had been reading book after book, trying to learn the Fae tongue. Her power still hadn't come, and she was trying her best to hurry it along. So far, most of the words still looked foreign to her, but she insisted on reading each book from cover to cover. She was starting to recognize the odd word, which she considered great progress. "Who will be there?"

"A little short notice, but that's my father for you. He's punctual to a fault, but party planning isn't his strong point. As for who'll be there, anyone who's anyone, I suppose. Royal weddings are so tedious. I just want you to be my Queen, to Hell with all the pomp and circumstance." Jareth told her, tossing the card onto his desk.

"I will be your Queen, but I need to do things the Fae way. What if everyone hates me?" Sarah asked, chewing on her finger.

"Why would they hate you?" Jareth asked, frowning.

"I'm not royalty, I'm not even truly Fae. I'm a changeling who you met as a 15 year old girl, is that not a little odd?"

"Perhaps it is unorthodox, but I've told you before, the Fae have fairly loose morals. The tales I could tell you about some of them, well they really aren't fit for a lady's ears." He kissed her sweetly. "What are you worried about, precious?"

"If they say anything bad about me, I won't even know. I won't understand anyone." She said miserably, slamming the book shut in frustration. She rubbed her stomach, feeling the twins squirming inside her. "And these two won't keep still and I can't concentrate."

"They've inherited my love of dancing." Jareth said with a smile, sitting down beside her. He kissed her again gently, then rested his head on her bump. It was bigger now, and she was roughly twenty three weeks pregnant. He knew that she was carrying the human way, and was starting to make preparations to live Above full time - hiring new advisers to oversee the running of the Kingdom, things like that. Once the twins were born, he wouldn't want to leave Sarah's side.

"They've inherited your love of driving me crazy." Sarah said, getting up. "They're lying on my bladder again. Honestly, I can't even think how I'm going to get through a three hour wedding ceremony."

"Anne Boleyn was pregnant when she was crowned. Would you believe, they had a lady hidden under her skirt with a chamber pot?" Jareth said, picking up the book she had just put down and flicking through it.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. I am _not_ doing that." She said with a shudder. "I'm nervous enough about meeting all the Fae nobility without having to pee in front of them."

"Where has this come from?" Jareth asked, frowning. "You haven't mentioned being uneasy for a while."

"I was so distracted with the pregnancy, and then planning the wedding and practicing magic that I haven't really thought about it. But you know I've always been worried, I told you months ago."

"I thought you felt better about it now. You should have told me weeks ago that you were feeling anxious." Jareth chastised her, and Sarah nodded in reluctant agreement.

"I know. You're so calm and collected all of the time, I didn't want you to think you had a hormonal blubbering wreck as a wife. I just don't know what to do; you keep saying you'll teach me etiquette but you haven't yet. I won't be able to speak to anyone, I'll probably make a complete fool out of myself.." Sarah said, all the words running together. Jareth held her tightly, and she stopped speaking. Her breaths were quick and shallow, and Jareth looked down at her in concern.

"Sarah. Calm down. For a start, you know they all speak English. They speak every language in existence. So you will be able to understand them. Your body is under enough strain without you panicking over nothing."

"But it isn't nothing! I'm worried, please don't just toss aside my concerns like they don't matter." She said bitterly.

She disappeared to go and use the bathroom, and Jareth waited until she came back to continue the conversation. She didn't like him projecting his voice whilst she was peeing, she said she found it creepy. After a minute, she popped back into the room and sat down beside him again. He wrapped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not trying to belittle your fears darling, I'm trying to reassure you. I will teach you etiquette this afternoon, we will keep going until you know exactly what to do in every possible situation." Jareth appeased her, and she smiled, some of the tension melting away.

"Thank you."

"I should probably tell you that there will be several women who I once knew rather well in attendance." Jareth said sheepishly, and Sarah groaned.

"Great, so I'm going to be surrounded by your gorgeous Fae ex girlfriends." She said, rolling her eyes. She stroked his arm gently, trying to calm herself down. The feel of his skin was relaxing to her, and he enjoyed it too.

"Not ex girlfriends." He said indifferently, kissing her forehead.

"What, you're still dating them?!" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, they were never my 'girlfriend'" he said, doing quote marks with his fingers. "Merely lovers."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better. Thanks Jareth. Why will they be there?" Sarah huffed, and Jareth tried to stroke her hair to soothe her, but she pushed his hand away.

"Most of them were nobility of some kind." Jareth shrugged. "They will be in attendance with their families."

"How many women are we talking about here? I need to know what I'm up against." Sarah said, feeling suspicious.

"At the banquet? Around twenty." Jareth shrugged, and Sarah closed her eyes in horror. "What?!"

"I have to sit around a table with twenty women who have all seen you naked. Do you honestly not see what I might find uncomfortable about that?" Sarah asked incredulously, and was infuriated when Jareth laughed.

"I'm sorry, I forget how human you still are. It's not unusual in my society - well, our society now, dearest. Everyone sleeps with everyone else and we still have to see them at formal occasions. It won't be awkward." Jareth said all this so lightly, and Sarah wondered if she was worrying over nothing.

"Won't it?" Sarah asked skeptically. "Twenty at the banquet - how many at the wedding?"

"I'd rather not say." He told her lightly, twirling a piece of her long brown hair around his finger.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at him as he tried to act casually.

"I'd rather you did." She said cooly, and he looked uneasy.

"You have to promise not to get angry." He warned her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"No." She said firmly, and he looked at her with that wounded puppy look she could never resist.

"Please?" He pressed her, and she relented a little.

"Tell me now and maybe I won't."

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for an argument.

"Around four hundred."

"Four - _hundred_ women. Four hundred women you've slept with will be watching us get married?" She asked in outrage, and Jareth tried to reason with her.

"If I could exclude them I would, for you, but there's no way we can not invite them. It's a royal wedding, I have very little say over who comes. I have to keep these families on my side. Besides, my parents don't really know who I've slept with, and they were in charge of the guest list. You can't honestly believe I'd _want_ four hundred of my lovers to be there? That's a little ridiculous, even for me." He urged her to see his perspective, and she let out a little sound of disbelief.

"Clearly you went to great lengths to keep them on side." Sarah said bitterly. She knew Jareth loved her; they were married and she was Fae as a direct result of his devotion to her. However, that didn't make it any more pleasant knowing that a string of his ex lovers would be paraded in front of her.

"Sarah, you know this wedding isn't for us. Hell, it isn't even in my Kingdom, it's at Father's palace. We're already married, you know how much I love you. Most royal weddings have nothing to do with love at all."

"That makes me feel better." She said sarcastically. Her hands were on her stomach, rubbing her belly. The babies had been causing her discomfort, but she didn't want to tell Jareth and get another lecture about using her powers properly.

"Sarah, I care about you. Only you. You will make a wonderful Queen, and if some of those stuck up nobidies don't like you, then screw 'em."

"You've already done that." She said with a raised eyebrow, and he sighed.

"You know what I meant, Sarah."

He kissed her firmly, pushing her gently down onto the couch. Soon, any suggestion that he could look at anyone but her was well and truly gone from her mind.

* * *

"I look huge." Sarah said, frowning at her reflection. Her hair was allowed to flow loose, looking lush and voluminous. Everything about her had been enhanced with her transformation, and she had to admit it was definitely a perk. Fae were alluring by nature, it was in their biology; she hoped at least some of that had rubbed off on her. She was wearing a new dress that Arethusa had sent over for her, a rather poofy grey silk shoulderless number. Unfortunately, it emphasized her mid section, hugging her belly tightly.

"You look divine." Jareth said from behind her, his hands caressing her curves. "Can we skip the banquet and just stay here? Pregnancy suits you so well, I can hardly resist you."

Jareth was dressed exquisitely, wearing an outfit not entirely different to the one she had seen in the peach dream. The jacket was dove grey, to match her dress, and studded in what Sarah assumed were small pieces of crystal. He was wearing eyeliner, something that made her laugh but that he assured her was normal for occasions such as these.

"It's so obvious I'm pregnant though. I was hoping for at least a little covering."

"Darling, revel in your fertility. It is a gift for our kind." Jareth said, thinking of all the Fae women who would have loved to conceive with such ease. "Now, you remember everything I taught you? As the future Queen, you needn't bow to anyone. Men should kiss your hand, women curtsy. If I seem a little distant, you know that's just how I am expected to behave. I adore you, if you need any reassurance of that." He rattled of a list of things for her to remember, and she nodded nervously.

"Just don't be too cold with me." She begged him. "I may be Fae but my emotions are still human, you know. Oh, and absolutely no flirting with other women, alright?"

"Of course." He said as though talking to a child. "Why would I even think of it when you look like this and are you who are?"

"You don't even know you're doing it most of the time." She said irritably. "So watch out for it."

"If I could stay by your side all evening, I would. Look after yourself; I worry about you among all those men, you know. Remember a few months ago I said you'd be like a baby bird straight from the nest? Tonight I'm letting you into a room full of cats, all at the bequest of my father."

* * *

The banquet hall of the High Palace was unbelievable; Sarah had only been to the High Castle before, and this building was much more elegant. The room was white marble, and in the darkness of nightfall it looked beautiful. Thousands of candles flickered, bathing the pale stone in orange light, as though the walls were on fire. The longest table Sarah had ever seen in her life went down the middle, and looked as though it was set for hundreds.

The room was already full of people; as guests of honour, she and Jareth entered last. She felt the burn of a thousand eyes on her, and she wanted the ground to swallow her up. She had always expected to feel more like a Fae, but right now her humanity chained her.

"His Royal Highness Jareth, King of the Goblins and his betrothed, Lady Sarah Williams." A voice announced, and Sarah watched as a few Fae broke away from the conversations and looked vaguely in their direction before turning back to their business.

"They don't care about us, precious. This is all an excuse for a party."

"It better not turn into an orgy, or I'm leaving." She hissed through her teeth, smiling as Arethusa approached them.

The High Queen looked different tonight; Sarah had only seen her dressed fairly simply, but tonight she was wearing a spectacular gown of navy blue silk, with a high collar. Her grey hair was pinned up in an enormous bouffant, and she looked every inch the Queen.

"You look beautiful, your Majesty." Jareth had informed her that it would be correct at an event like this to address his parents using their full titles. "I love your dress."

"Thank you darling girl. You look wonderful; I knew that style would suit you. You have wonderful shoulders, why hide them?" Arethusa said as Jareth murmured his agreement.

"Um, thanks." Sarah said, her hand moving up to touch them subconsciously. "This is a beautiful palace."

"Why thank you. I designed it two thousand years ago, before Jareth was even born." Arethusa told her proudly. "It is rather grand, I suppose."

"Well, it's truly lovely." Sarah said awkwardly, aware that more and more people were staring at her. "Where is His Majesty?"

"Oh, over there talking to someone or other. Now, you simply must come and meet some people." Arethusa took Sarah's arm, guiding her towards the throng. She looked back at Jareth, who had already been cornered by several incredibly beautiful women. Oh God, this was some kind of hell.

"Sarah, this is Lord Iralla, and his daughter Lyneh." Arethusa said, as the woman swept into a deep curtsey. Iralla took Sarah's hand and kissed it lightly. "This is Sarah, of course. Iralla is a distant cousin of mine."

"A pleasure to meet you." Sarah said in her steadiest voice.

"The pleasure is ours. Imagine our surprise when Jareth announced his betrothal! A day we never thought would come." Iralla said, his fat stomach jiggling with laughter.

"Oh, I always knew it would!" Arethusa said, batting her cousin's arm playfully. "He was just waiting for the right girl to come along. Oh! I see more people have arrived, I must be off." She darted away, waving to someone in the distant crowd. Sarah looked as she walked away, wishing she'd stayed by her side.

"That is a lovely dress." Lyneh told her, eyeing her up and down. Sarah noticed that her eyes lingered on her midsection, and Sarah shifted uncomfortably. "Did you design it yourself?"

"Um, no, Arethusa, uh, I mean Her Majesty had it made for me as a gift." Sarah explained, and Lyneh gave her a tight smile.

"Well it's quite lovely." Lyneh was wearing a shoulderless gown too, with puffy sleeves as opposed to Sarah's slim ones. It was a striking red, setting off her pale skin perfectly. Sarah looked at her markings; they were silver, with a tiny sliver of red just by the eyebrow. Her father's were similar, and Sarah realised she was staring at the pair of them. Lyneh really was beautiful, her face heart shaped and framed by long, golden hair.

"Would you excuse me, Lady Sarah? I must go and see my mother." Lyneh curtsied and moved away, and Sarah watched as she walked away into a gaggle of statuesque blonde women, all of whom were looking at her and none of whom looked like her mother.

 _Oh crap_ she thought, feeling like the unpopular kid at school all over again.

"I see you are a changeling." Iralla said conversationally, and Sarah wondered if that was bad taste to mention it so bluntly.

"You can tell just like that?" She asked with a frown, and the fat old man chuckled.

"Oh yes. Not that it is a bad thing, of course. Unusual. I don't think I have ever met one before." He said, taking a deep glug of wine.

"Well, here I am." Sarah said awkwardly, wishing she wasn't on her own with this man.

"And with child." The man gestured to her belly, and she clamped a protective hand over it. Really, were all the Fae this tactless? Jareth had said they were cold, but this was just impolite. "Jareth made a sound choice."

"Uh, right. Will you excuse me please?" She asked, feeling uncomfortable. The man merely turned away from her and started talking to someone else. Sarah tried to find Jareth, but couldn't see him through the throng of Fae. This seemed incredibly familiar, she thought.

She stood on her own for a while, and she realised with a start that she could understand every word being said. Finally! Her power of tongues had kicked in. She looked for Jareth, but couldn't see him. The words that had sounded so foreign suddenly made sense.

Out of interest, she moved closer to the group of girls she had seen Lyneh join and listened carefully to their conversation. She tried to conceal herself a little, half hiding behind a pillar pretending to fix her shoe.

"Can you believe it?" One said in outrage. "A changeling! He's clearly only with her to get her pregnant, she really is most unremarkable. He'll tire of her once she's had a few children and lost her figure."

"I was expecting someone truly beautiful, but she's uglier than my kitchen goblin!" One laughed viciously, and Sarah felt her words cut her like a knife. "Jareth really has let his standards slip. I always knew he liked humans, but to marry one? He could have had his pick of any of us, but he let us marry those fools our father's chose instead and he picked that little chit as his bride."

"My marriage didn't stop Jareth coming to me a week after my wedding. We did it whilst my husband was out hunting, it was most invigorating." Another one, a redhead this time, said. "He'll call on us again soon enough, he never could stay away for long. What's it been, barely two years since he last visited one of us? That's nothing at all."

Sarah wished she had never tried to eavesdrop. She felt sick and dizzy, unsure if her flickering vision was down to her eyes or the candlelight.

"Can you see her standing there watching us? She can't even speak our language." Lyneh laughed. "Some Fae she is - she's still an ugly little human. She is so inelegant, all 'ums' and 'errs'. How can she ever hope to be Queen? She looks like an elephant in that dress."

Sarah looked down at herself, blinking back tears. They were right; she looked ridiculous. They were all so beautiful, more beautiful than she thought was even possible, and here she was, short little Sarah playing at being a princess in a stupid grey dress with a stupidly huge baby bump where all these women had waists she could fit one hand around.

She moved away from the group of women, wanting to find Jareth and get him to take her the hell away from here. She searched for what felt like hours but was probably only ten or fifteen minutes. The room was so enormous, and crammed full of so many people. She felt utterly lost, that little girl in the ballroom all over again.

"Sarah?" Jareth appeared behind her. He was speaking English, and looked concerened. "Are you alright precious? You look unhappy."

"I _am_ unhappy." She said miserably, and Jareth looked at her in amazement.

"You're speaking Fae?" He said, dropping into the language himself. "How wonderful!"

"It's not wonderful. I just heard all of your ex girlfriends saying horrible things about me. I want to go home." She moaned, a rogue tear falling from her eye. She wiped it away angrily, determined not to let those little girls see her cry.

"Who?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked as though he was trying not to laugh, which irritated Sarah even more. "Which ones?"

"I only know the name of one of them, Lyneh. Did you sleep with your mother's cousin's daughter? Isn't that a bit weird?" Sarah asked, and Jareth shook his head and shrugged.

"Mother and Father are first cousins. Iralla is only her third or fourth cousin, I lose track. Honestly Sarah, there are so few of us that a level of inbreeding is inevitable. It was the same with human nobility once upon a time, it is to keep the bloodlines pure."

"Oh." Sarah said, not knowing what else to say. She hadn't been expecting a family history lesson. "I still want to go home. They all hate me."

"They hate me too." Jareth shrugged. "Just try not to let it bother you."

"They hate you because you slept with all of them!" She pointed out, not entirely unfairly. "I haven't even spoken to most of them."

"You are marrying me, and that's enough. Darling, please don't worry about it. They are just bitter, after all I am quite a catch. It will be dinner soon, and then we can leave. Alright?"

"Okay." Sarah said wearily. "I can't even hug you, can I?"

"I'm afraid not. I am loathe to be like this Sarah, but I need to keep up appearances. I show any weakness and these vultures will jump on it. Who knows what they'd do. Just ignore those women, they mean no harm I'm sure."

The political situation Underground was fraught enough after word of what Juturna had done (though thankfully nobody knew about her interference with Sarah's pregnancy), and Jareth knew that there were people lining up to take his place as heir to the High Throne. He hadn't told Sarah the extent of the problem, and she believed everything was normal. However, spies he had positioned throughout all the Underground Kingdoms reported unrest, and it concerned him greatly. Tonight was important to assert his position. He was treading carefully, behaving as he should - except from his choice of bride, he supposed, but he would rather die than give Sarah up.

"I wish we were Above." She said suddenly, and Jareth frowned. "I know this is what we'd planned, but I honestly don't feel like I belong here. I just want to be Jareth and Sarah, not King and Queen. I feel so out of place."

"Sarah." His voice was harder, and he was gripping her arm. "Please don't make things more difficult than they already are. This evening will be over soon, and after our wedding these kind of events will be rare. You will feel more at ease the longer you are Fae, I promise. But please, try and behave properly." He knew as soon as he said it that this was wrong, and prepared himself for her wrath.

"Properly?" She hissed at him, feeling like a kid getting told off. "There's a whole gang of beautiful Fae women over there listing all the things that are wrong with me, the woman you supposedly love, and I'm the one who has to behave? You're on their side, I can't believe it. Well, they're over there if you want them."

"Sarah, you're being ridiculous and it needs to stop. Now." His voice was dangerously low, and he was aware that people were beginning to stare at them.

"Go fuck yourself Jareth." She hissed at him, walking away angrily.

She walked off back into the crowd, looking for Arethusa or Hefeyd.

"Looks like you're in trouble." Adi appeared by his side. "You've got a lot to learn about being married, friend."

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like I should explain this chapter a bit. I've been writing about how Sarah was worried about being Fae and I realised I hadn't really followed it up. I got the most wonderful message suggesting I use this as I've already set it up. That's the trouble with writing so quickly, you forget what you've already done. So yeah, here's a little bit showing that it isn't all roses and sunshine for them.  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, I'm not feeling very well today so I'm really sorry if there are any errors, especially as this chapter is twice the normal length.**

 **Please review!**


	28. Strangers Till Now

**A/N: Warning for swearing and adult themes.**

* * *

"Nonsense." Jareth replied smoothly. Adi may be a friend, but this was not an informal social situation. "Hormones, that's all it is."

"Of course, Sire." Adi said with a knowing smile. "She is a pretty thing."

"I know. Excuse me Adi, I'm going to go and catch her before she gets herself into trouble." He was watching her progress through the crowd, and Jareth didn't want her to overhear anything else that might upset her.

"Of course."

Jareth managed to catch up with her quickly; she was almost six months pregnant and not exactly quick on her feet. He pulled her back to him, and they disappeared into the corridor outside the banquet hall. It was empty, and she glared at him.

"You can't just take me places without my permission." She tried to walk away from him, but he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her roughly to him.

"Sarah, please, just listen to me." He begged her, and she shook her head.

"No." She was speaking English again, going back to her first tongue. "I don't want to. This is awful."

"Sarah, you need to calm down." He was gripping her arms, his fingers digging in just below her shoulders. She stared at him, and he was sure her stare would turn him to stone.

"Calm down?! I've tolerated rude comments from strangers, and listened to possibly the most attractive women I've ever seen talk about how you'll be going back to their beds as soon as you've tired of me! I think I'm entitled to be a little upset." She hissed, trying to get out of his grasp.

"You know damn well that isn't true." Jareth said, his voice hard. "I would never even look at them. It's you, Sarah. It's always been you!"

"That didn't stop you from sleeping with one of them two years ago did it?! I was sitting at home wondering if you'd come back to visit me and the whole time you were seeing someone else." Sarah said, remembering how she had pined for him.

"So were you!" He said defensively. "We weren't together, I didn't believe we ever would be. I'm hardly a monk Sarah, what did you expect?"

"That's not the point. The point is you're acting like I'm the one in the wrong, when those girls were saying horrible things about me. You're my husband, you should defend me against things like that, not laugh!"

"You're going to be my Queen, Sarah. You need to get a thicker skin." He said patronizingly to her, and she howled in frustration.

"You dropped me in at the deep end! I've only ever met Fae who lived Above or your parents, and even then your father said nasty things about me the first time we met! I'm six months pregnant, Jareth - I've asked you repeatedly if people would judge me and you said no, well the looks I've been getting have certainly seemed like I'm being judged! I'm not like you, I can't just laugh it off." She said, her throat burning. She felt utterly humiliated, and the one person who was supposed to be on her side was acting like a complete ass.

"Sarah, you're being paranoid! We need to go back in, this looks suspect." Jareth said, and Sarah rolled her eyes angrily.

"Oh, and we couldn't have them thinking ill of us! I wish you'd care a little less about what they think and a little more about your upset wife." She vanished, and Jareth just hoped she'd gone back into the hall.

* * *

The banquet commenced, and several hours past uneventfully. Sarah sat beside a friend of Arethusa's, a woman, who made pleasant conversation with her in English. She felt reassured that not all Fae women were so difficult to get along with. The man on her other side didn't speak to her, but Sarah felt his lustful gaze on her more than once, and felt uncomfortable.

Jareth was opposite her, but the table was so vast they were nowhere near each other. He looked at her every now and then, and Sarah was sure she saw contempt in his eyes. He sat beside Lyneh, and Sarah tried to ignore the fact the blonde woman was draped all over her husband. Jareth didn't seem to be reciprocating the touches, but he wasn't pushing her away either. The whole thing made Sarah feel sick.

After the banquet was over and the tables were removed with a mere clap of Hefeyd's hands, she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Jareth had vanished somewhere, and she couldn't find Arethusa or the kind woman she had been talking to at dinner. To her relief, she saw the High King approach her, accompanied by two swarthy looking men. She recognized one as the man who didn't speak to her at the dinner table. She gave her father in law a quick curtsey.

"This is Sarah." Hefeyd told them, and the taller of the two, Kaen, kissed her hand. She squirmed a little but accepted it. The man she had sat next to at dinner stayed silent, but Sarah could feel his eyes on her breasts. Really, these Fae men were as subtle as a brick to the face.

"Hello, Lady Sarah." Kaen said, and Hefeyd shook his head.

"Don't bother to speak Fae to her, she can't understand it." The High King told them in their own language, and Sarah said nothing. If Jareth was so concerned with the opinion of others, she may aswell find out what her father in law truly thought of her.

"Why not?" The other, Rujeth, asked. "Is she dim?"

"Perhaps. She's human, after all. Jareth seems fond of her, she must be quite something in bed to maintain his attention." Hefeyd said, shrugging. He wandered off, and Sarah could see by the way she staggered along he was drunk again.

"She's rather beautiful." Kaen said, as his eyes traveled her body. "I'd fuck her."

"You'd fuck anything." Rujeth said with a laugh. Sarah felt sick, and turned away from them, looking for Jareth. She could see him talking with an older woman she didn't recognize. She watched as his eyes darted to her and then flicked away, pretending he wasn't watching her.

The idiots behind her were still making lewd comments about her in a language they thought she didn't understand, and she struggled to keep calm. She felt like she had nowhere to go; Jareth didn't want her near him, and it seemed like the entire room was against her. She couldn't leave because that would make him even more mad. She felt like a caged animal, painfully aware of all the eyes on her.

She moved to the side of the room, hoping if she could just stay on the edge until it was time to leave, she would be safe.

* * *

Jareth watched as Sarah lingered awkwardly by the two men, and was relieved when she walked away. He was half talking to an old friend of his mother's, Pyra, who could see how distracted he was.

"Lovers tiff?" Pyra asked with a kind smile. She was very like Jareth's mother, though without the same gifts.

"No, nothing like that." Jareth said stiffly, still watching Sarah in the distance. "She's just adjusting to royal life, that's all."

"She'll come to understand how it all works. She was wonderful company at dinner, so intelligent and warm. Keep her away from those girls, Jareth." He had known Pyra his whole life, and she had no time for titles. "They don't take kindly to being replaced by a human. Sarah was upset about your behavior with Lyneh at dinner."

"I don't wish to discuss my personal life." Jareth said sharply, and Pyra nodded.

"I'm sorry, Sire." She said, looking down at her feet. It was hard not to be familiar with a man she had known since he was a mere twinkle in his father's eye.

"I'm sorry, Pyra, I didn't mean to snap. It's just a difficult time."

"Your mother told me about Juturna, and the children. It will be alright."

"She shouldn't have told you." Jareth said irritably. This whole evening was a nightmare, and now his mother had been telling all and sundry his private business.

"She's worried too. You're never too old to be her baby, and the situation between you and Juturna has always upset her greatly."

"I don't wish to discuss this either, Pyra. It is not the place." Jareth said firmly, her familiarity irritating him. She curtsied to him, and began to move away.

"Of course. I'll leave you to go and find your betrothed. Have a pleasant evening, Your Highness."

Jareth stood for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. Sarah was still on her own, and Jareth was relieved she'd moved away from those two men. They were dark Fae, and they were only here in an attempt to keep them on Hefeyd's side. They used women like toys, with a reputation for hurting them. If they so much as damaged a hair on Sarah's head, Jareth would tear them apart with his bare hands.

He began making his way over to her, and was stopped by his father, who clapped him on the shoulder. Jareth could see he was drunk, and bowed politely.

"Father."

"Son! Come, talk with Rujeth and Kaen. They're the only interesting people here." His father had a strange fondness for the two men, despite the fact they were completely hideous.

"I was actually on my way to Sarah." Jareth said, trying to get away and his father pulled him back.

"She's fine. Arethusa will find her." His father said dismissively.

He could hardly argue with his father, and tried not to grimace when the two men walked over to them.

"Your Highness." The two men said, bowing to him. Jareth raised his hand, gesturing that they could stand.

"Good evening." He said, trying to stand so he could watch Sarah. She was still alone, looking lost, and he felt awful. His father was gripping his lower arm, using him for support, and Jareth was trapped.

"What a fine specimen you've found." It was not unusual for Fae men to talk like this, even to royalty. "Who knew humans could be so beautiful?"

"She's not human. She's Fae." Jareth said, looking at the men with narrowed eyes. "What she used to be doesn't matter. She is Fae now."

"She doesn't even understand our language." Kaen said with a laugh. "She has the markings, nothing else. You're clearly more interested in what's between her legs than her ears."

Jareth said nothing, interested to know what they had said that she couldn't understand. He would keep up the pretense; it was a useful tool. He would ignore the coarse implications; he was under scrutiny tonight, and a level head was essential.

"I see she was willing to open her legs to you quick enough. Pregnant already. Most impressive." Rujeth said sneeringly, and Jareth puffed up defensively.

"A King needs heirs." Jareth said indifferently. He turned to look at Sarah, but she was gone. He looked around in panic, and saw her standing with her back to him near a group of women. He wondered if she was eavesdropping again. "And turning a mortal was a pleasurable experience."

"A human is certainly the best way to get them." Rujeth said, drinking his wine. "And such a pretty one must have been a pleasure. I hope you'll share her once she's given birth."

"No." Jareth said firmly. "Sarah is mine. Perhaps if you are so enchanted by humans you should find your own. I will have no other man touch her."

"Come now, Jareth. A prize so beautiful cannot be kept to just one man." Rujeth leered, and Jareth didn't like the look on his face. He knew these men had been accused of crimes against women, crimes he didn't even want to think about. They had always been acquitted, but Jareth knew they were true. If they had their chance, they would pounce on Sarah like the beasts they were.

"I would like to see a man try to get near her. Do I need to remind you both that I have more power in my little finger than most do in their entire bodies?" He said lightly. The men shifted uncomfortably, knowing it would not be worth their lives if they dared to touch the Goblin King's woman. "She is mine, quite dedicated to me. She is my plaything, she will do whatever I ask. I plan to have many heirs, making the most of her humanity. It is why I chose her, of course. And I made sure she was fertile before we married, clearly. She believes it is love, as humans always do."

He eyed Sarah in the distance. He wasn't quite sure why he was talking like this; he adored her with every fibre of his being, but something was making him assert his dominance. He was Fae, a powerful Fae, and he could never escape who he was.

Sarah turned away from the group and walked in a daze through the crowd. Jareth watched in confusion as she headed for the door, and excused himself to follow her.

"Sarah, where are you going?" He asked her quietly, and she shook her head, refusing to speak to him. He grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop. He didn't want to make a scene, and he placed his arm over hers. "Stay. Don't defy me Sarah, not now." He warned her, and she looked up at him with hurt eyes.

"How could I defy you?" She asked, her voice so quiet he struggled to hear her. "I'm your plaything after all."

* * *

Sarah stood on the edge of the room, and she watched everyone talk and begin to dance. The music was hypnotic, like nothing she had heard before. She wondered if Jareth would want to dance with her, and then shook her head. She was angry with him, she didn't want to dance.

The women behind her giggled loudly, and Sarah turned to see what they were doing. They were huddled around something, and Sarah looked through the spaces their tiny waists created. She raised an eyebrow when she saw they were looking into a mirror, just like the one Jareth had given her for Christmas.

"He's so handsome." One girl sighed. "I wish he wasn't talking about _her._ It's boring."

"Shut up Aralla! I'm trying to listen. Those Fae he's talking to are such creeps, they make me feel sick."

Sarah wondered if they were watching Jareth, and she craned her neck to see into the mirror.

"The little human is trying to watch what we're doing."

"Don't let her, she'll just tell him we're watching him."

"Oh, let her." Lyneh said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "We saw their argument, she has no power over him. He's speaking our language, she won't understand a word anyway. Dumb little changeling."

They moved apart to let Sarah in, and she watched him on the mirror. She could hear him speak, and she gasped in shock as she heard him say something that made her feel utterly betrayed.

 _"She believes it is love, as humans always do."_

She staggered away from the group, feeling as though she had been struck in the heart. She blindly made her way towards the exit, and was aware of someone tugging on her arm. She turned around and saw it was Jareth.

"Sarah, where are you going?" He asked her angrily, and she shook her head, afraid to answer him. His grip was tight on her arm, his face contorted in anger. She felt scared of him in that moment. "Stay. Don't defy me Sarah, not now."

"How could I defy you? I'm your plaything after all." She bit out, trying not to cry.

"You heard me." He said, having the decency to look guilty.

"Yes, yes I heard you. Those girls over there had a mirror like mine. Hell, maybe you gave it to them. Your standard gift to the women you pretend to love. Would you please excuse me? I can't even look at you right now."

Jareth waved his hand, and Sarah hoped he'd blocked that bunch of bitches from watching their argument.

"Sarah, you will not leave. You are going to be my wife."

"Am I? Is that your wish? Because actually Jareth, I'm not sure I want to be your wife. The thought of our son growing up to be like all of you repulses me. Our daughter being like those spiteful things in there, or your sister. I can't stand it."

"Sarah, don't say things like that." Jareth begged her.

"Why? You can say whatever you want about me to strangers, you stand there and allow me to be humiliated and then you join in! My husband wouldn't do that. You're a stranger." She wrenched her hand free of his grip. "I'm going home. My home." She stormed out of the hall, and Jareth followed her into the deserted corridor.

"Sarah, you can't leave. You're carrying my children." Jareth begged her. He had screwed everything up, and he wondered if he would ever be able to fix this.

"Yes, I am. Clever of you to make sure I was fertile before we got married, otherwise you'd be stuck with me for no reason. Very wise."

"Sarah, you know that isn't true. I was trying to make sure you didn't get pregnant!"

"Oh, how noble!" She spat out, her whole body aching with hurt. "Well I am. If the children are without magic, I will take care of them, you won't have to see them. I would hate for you to be burdened with our mortal children as well as their mother."

"Sarah, that's unfair." Jareth said, and he tried to steady himself. "I will love our children whether they have magic or not. You are my wife!"

"Not here! I'm not your wife here, and my father will handle divorce papers." Sarah said, blinking back tears. She had been so happy, and now she was saying the word 'divorce' barely two months after they had gotten married.

"No! No, you will not divorce me. This is ridiculous!" Jareth said desperately, trying to make sense of how everything had gone so wrong so quickly. "I'll take you back to the Goblin City, or to London, wherever you want. Just talk to me Sarah, I can explain everything."

Sarah grabbed at her stomach, taking a deep breath.

"What? What is it?" Jareth asked in concern. He put his arms around her to steady her, and she elbowed him off her.

"They're kicking. That's all." She said firmly, standing up straight. "Properly kicking. It took me by surprise."

"They are?" Jareth asked, looking down at her stomach. "How wonderful."

"Don't pretend to care, Jareth. I'm leaving." She said firmly. She tried to disappear, but couldn't. "Let me go!"

"Sarah, please. Please don't give up on us. I'll take you wherever you need to go, you know your magic doesn't function properly when you're like this."

"You're not who I thought you were. When we were Above you were sweet, loving and attentive. Here? You're cruel. I thought your persona in the Labyrinth was an act, but maybe this past year has just been the act."

"No! The person I am when I'm with you is me. I love you precious, truly love you. Something happens to me when I am with my own kind. I can't explain it, but I tried to warn you." Jareth said weakly, knowing how badly he had messed up.

"No, you said that the Fae could be cold. There's being cold, and then there's completely betraying the life we've built together. The lives I have inside me. You made our life a joke." She said weakly, as tears slipped from her eyes. She felt drained, and just wanted to sleep.

"It's not a joke. You are the most important thing to me, I will die without you." He said fiercely, wiping the tears from her face. She didn't have any energy to stop him.

"No, you won't. You'll move on, find a new queen." She said quietly, and Jareth exhaled sharply at the mere suggestion of such a thing.

"Sarah. I will never, ever love another. It is you. Only you." He cupped her face and looked into her eyes desperately. She broke then, the broken expression on his face devastating her.

She sobbed into his shoulder, all of the hurt she felt breaking loose. He took them away from the awful place that had almost destroyed them, and back to the Goblin City.

* * *

 **A/N: Two updates in less than eight hours..oops. I couldn't leave you all hanging though (and myself - I actually read my own chapters like a reader because I'm cool haha)**

 **I hope you enjoyed this one, I know it's been all angst today! Thanks so much for all your reviews, I'd love to hear from you!**


	29. Broken Promises

"I want you to take me to London." Sarah said as they landed in their royal bedchamber. "I can't be near you right now."

"Sarah, I'm not letting you run away. We need to talk about this." Jareth implored her, and she shook her head angrily.

"What is there to talk about? How you belittled me? How you undermined my position as your betrothed? How can I be Queen when you allow people to laugh at me, to leer at my body?!" She demanded, and Jareth rolled his eyes.

"Nobody was leering at your body." Jareth sighed, and Sarah looked furious.

"I heard those two you were talking to say that they wanted to fuck me." She spat at him. "How do you think that makes me feel? Like I'm not vulnerable enough, being pregnant and a changeling, let's add sexual harassment! And then, I see you talking to them, and thanks to that group's magic mirror, I can hear you joining in! Who knows what you said before I started watching?"

"When did you start watching?" Jareth asked, wondering if she'd seen the lewd comments the two Fae had made about her and how he had firmly stated she was off limits.

"If you have to ask, then I assume that means you were saying something else you didn't wan me to hear."

"No! I just need to know when you started watching, how much you think you know."

"Hmm, let's so if I can remember. I think it went something like 'She is mine, quite dedicated to me. She is my plaything, she will do whatever I ask. I plan to have many heirs, making the most of her humanity. It is why I chose her, of course. And I made sure she was fertile before we married, clearly. She believes it is love, as humans always do.' Does that sound about right?" Sarah parroted to him, remembering every hurtful word.

"Oh." Now he heard it back, it sounded absolutely dreadful.

"Yes, oh." She said crossing her arms. "Now, will you take me back to London?"

"Get out of that dress first, you'll never be able to undo it on your own." Jareth said; she looked uncomfortable enough without having to wear a restricting dress all night.

"I'm going to have to get used to doing things on my own." She said firmly, reaching round to undo the ribbons of her bodice. She hadn't perfected undressing using magic yet.

"Sarah, we're not getting a divorce. If one night is enough for you to fall out of love with me, then how much did you really love me in the first place?" He said viciously, and immediately clapped a hand over his mouth as though he could take the words back.

She froze, and Jareth knew he had gone too far. He braced himself, and she slapped him full in the face.

"How dare you question my love?!" She screamed at him. She was shaking with rage, and Jareth stepped away from her. As a changeling, she still hadn't adjusted to the sheer strength she now possessed and posed a quite real danger to him. "I've given up everything for you! I'm going to have to watch my family die, maybe even my children! I did it for you, and you stand there and accuse me of not loving you?!"

"Sarah I'm sorry-"

"No! I am utterly humiliated, Jareth. You mocked me in front of your father, in front of strangers who were undressing me with their eyes! You allowed me to be ridiculed by women who you have fucked and you made out like _I_ was in the wrong."

"Please don't use such coarse language." He winced. "It is not ladylike."

"That's your only problem with what I just said? That I swore? What is the matter with you?! Are you such an emotional cripple that you can't see the problem with what you did?" She screamed in frustration as her fingers fumbled with the strings of her corset.

"Let me help you." He was by her side in an instant, and Sarah cried angry, bitter tears. "Please, darling."

"You can help me undo the dress, then you can take me to London." Sarah said, her voice flat. "Then you can come back here alone and I will think about the divorce."

"You're not going to London in this state." He told her firmly, and her mouth was set in a stubborn line. He hated arguing with her, he just wanted to pin her down and make her stay.

"If you don't take me, I'll take myself." She told him firmly, and he narrowed his eyes. Last time she did that, she ended up nearly killing herself by falling off their roof.

"Don't threaten me, Sarah."

"It's not a threat. Believe it or not Jareth, not everything I do is connected to you. I want to go to London because I need to sleep and I need to think. You have hurt me, you have betrayed me and you dare to imply that I am doing something wrong." Her chest ached from crying, her body exhausted.

"Just let me undress you. Then we can talk about what happens next." Jareth said gently, approaching her with care.

She ignored him, still fumbling with the laces on her own.

"Sarah." He said weakly. "Please let me help you. I'm sorry."

"Are you? I told you how anxious I was, even when we were there! You had every chance to stop, to think about what you were saying and how it would make me feel and you didn't. It's like you were trying to hurt me as much as you possibly could."

"That's not true! I would do anything for you." He shouted back, and she laughed in his face.

"Except protect me! I expected everyone in that room to be against me, but my own husband? Do you remember our vows?" She said, staring down at the ring he had given her. "You vowed always to support me." She wrenched the ring off her finger and threw it at him.

"Don't."

"It's worthless now." Sarah said. "The promises you made when you gave me that are worthless."

"They are not! I meant every single word of what I said that day. You're right, I let you down. I'm sorry. Something happens to me when I'm around other Fae, it's like an Alpha male instinct." He picked up the ring, and turned it over in his hand.

"Well, well done because you look quite the big man! Now unlace me so I can get out of here. When you've undone the strings, you can go over there and turn around. I don't want you to look at me."

"Why?" Jareth asked, confused. "I've seen you naked thousands of times. It's a little late for modesty, no?"

"Don't insult me Jareth. Are you implying I'm a whore?" She snapped at him, and he looked at her in disbelief.

"What? No! Sarah, you're hearing what you want to hear. Why can't I look at you?"

"Because I don't want you to." She said, her fingers still fumbling at the back of her dress. He walked over to her and moved her fingers away gently, kissing her ring finger. She pulled her hand away from him so sharply the stone on her engagement ring caught his mouth, and he winced. "I'm nothing compared to those women, and I don't want you to see me."

"Sarah, this is ridiculous." He sighed, and she turned to face him. Her face was blank, her eyes full of tears.

"Is it? Is it ridiculous that you disgust me so much I don't want you to look at me? Are you helping me or not?" She asked, her voice hard and measured as she tried to keep her emotion inside.

He couldn't say anything in response to that.

Jareth undid the ribbons slowly, his body pressed closer to hers than strictly needed. She made no comment on his speed, but when he tried to kiss her neck, she jerked her body away from him.

"Don't." She whispered, and he sagged against her in defeat.

"Please." He begged her; spurring his kisses, not even letting him touch her, hurt him more than he thought possible. She turned her head and glared at him furiously.

"You can't pretend everything's alright. I know that we need to talk, but I meant what I said. If that's how you really are, I don't want to be with you." Her eyes welled with fresh tears, the thought of spending thousands of years without him inconceivable, yet to her mind a very realistic possibility.

"You would throw everything away just because of one evening? Let our children grow up without a father?" He asked incredulously, and she looked at him pityingly.

"I'd rather they grew up without you than know the man you were tonight." Sarah told him sharply, and he felt regret clench his heart.

"Please, darling this isn't fair. I know I was a complete prick tonight but that isn't me. You know me, you know how much I love you." He tried grabbing at her hands again, and she let him hold them. He kissed each knuckle, and Sarah looked down at him. He was rather pitiful, begging for her mercy like this.

"I thought I did. Why did you have to say that I _believed_ it was love, like it was all an act on your part? I get playing along, I expected a certain level of brusqueness towards me. But then what you said.." Sarah shut her eyes, his voice echoing in her mind "that was just unnecessary."

"I know." He admitted. She turned around again, her dress still on, and his fingers resumed untying the laces of her corset, his fingers brushing over her bare skin. She didn't move, but Jareth noticed she flinched a little. "I'm ashamed."

"You should be." When he had finished unlacing her, he moved away just as she had asked him to, and turned his back. Sarah took the huge dress off, throwing the piles of material onto a chair. She got a long nightgown out of the dresser and threw it over her head. She sat down at the vanity, and began removing her make up. "You can turn back now."

"I don't know what to say, I don't know how to fix this." Jareth admitted.

"I can't tell you how to fix it. I don't know if you can." Sarah said sadly, wiping cream from her face. "You've hurt me. I may be a walking bag of hormones right now, but your words would hurt anyone, pregnant or not."

"I know, precious."

"You denied our love." She said, putting the glass bottle down on the table with such force that it shattered. She couldn't control her strength when she was angry, and Jareth watched her warily.

"Yes." He admitted. "I did."

"You made our babies seem like part of a contract." Sarah said bitterly, cradling her belly with her spare hand as she waved away the mess. "They are so loved by me, so precious to me, to hear you talk about my pregnancy like that.." She inhaled to stop herself crying yet again. "I meant what I said. I'm seriously considering a divorce."

"No." Jareth said fiercely. "After all we've been through, you would just throw us away? Sarah, we are adults, we are married. I cocked up, but you can't just divorce me at the first sign of trouble! You are not your mother."

"Don't you dare compare me to her!" Sarah screamed, standing up suddenly. The chair crashed to the floor behind her, and one of the legs splintered. "I am nothing like her! She wanted her own life, without me. I want a better life for my children than one with people who know nothing but cruelty!"

"Sarah, please, I didn't mean that." He walked over to her and held her arms. She struggled against him at first, but calmed down. "Please, this isn't good for any of you to get so upset. I will fix this, I will spend my life making it up to you if I have to."

"How?" She asked suspiciously, as he knelt in front of her. It was a symbol of submission, she knew; he was King, and knelt for only his Father. Here he was on his knees in front of her. It was a big gesture for him, she knew, and she decided to give him a chance.

"How can I prove that I love you?" Jareth asked her desperately, and Sarah sighed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple.

"You can care less about what people think. You can put me before your stupid image." She said tiredly. "I know that you're a King, but surely you're not that precariously perched on your throne that everyone has to think you have no feelings at all?"

"Sarah, I need to seem dominant or people will take advantage and try and displace me. Everything is very delicate at the moment; the Elves are threatening to revolt, and I have a list of cousins queuing up to replace me on my throne. Aside from what I said, which I apologize for, that is how I will have to behave when we are in public like that. I tried to warn you."

"Fine, I get that. But asserting your dominance over me by completely trashing everything I've spent the last year believing to be true is unfair. It really hurt." She said weakly, and she started to cry again. "I didn't think you were capable of hurting me so much."

"Neither did I." Jareth said in a small voice. "If any mortals had talked about you in such a manner I would have killed them. Yet I allowed myself to join in with their disgusting jokes."

"Those men that were talking about how they'd like to fuck me before you got there." Sarah spat out, the words disgusting on her tongue. Jareth visibly tensed up, his hands tight fists by his sides. "I need to trust that you would protect me from them, not pass me around like a newspaper."

"Did you not hear the whole conversation?" Jareth asked angrily. "They asked if I would share you."

"What did you say?" Sarah asked, both hands on her stomach. She felt threatened, and she wanted to run and hide. Jareth pulled her hands into his own, and held them tightly. He looked into her eyes, his expression dangerous.

"I said that I would _never_ share you. That's why I was acting like that Sarah, if they thought I was weak they might try and steal you way. They are dark Fae, rapists and torturers. If I showed even a glimmer of weakness in front of them, I would be putting you in grave danger."

"Oh." Sarah said, understanding things a little better. The context helped lessen the sting of his words just a little, but she was still angry.

"Yes." Jareth shrugged. "That's why I was particularly assertive, as well as denying that I loved you. If they knew the ferocity of my feelings for you, they wouldn't hesitate to steal you. And the children."

"That doesn't change the fact that you were completely rude to me even when we were in private, and didn't defend me against anyone. Standing up for me doesn't even show that you love me, it just shows that you give enough of a damn about me not to let people trash me in front of you. If Fae see that you have no respect for me, how am I ever going to have any power as your Queen?"

"Alright." Jareth said, breathing out in relief. "I will never disrespect you like that again. It was wrong of me, I know. I knew at the time, I don't know why I said it."

"And you will never let your harem say terrible things about me." Sarah instructed him, and Jareth nodded quickly, eager to agree to any condition she set him if it meant she would forgive him.

"I will go back and tell them all right now if that's what you want."

"No, I don't want you to go near them. Just promise me that if something like that ever happens again, you will be on my side. I'm not marrying the man I saw tonight. I want to marry you. Sweet, funny, sarcastic, demanding you."

"You still want to marry me, sweetness?" He asked, pulling her towards him.

"Maybe." She said sullenly. She ran her fingers up his face, and his eyes shut, a small smile on his lips as he enjoyed her gentle touch. "This is what matters, Jareth." She told him, guiding his hand to her bump. "You, me and them. Everyone else isn't worth a damn."

"I know. I should have prepared you better. It was callous of me, and I'm sorry. I love you so very much, it's almost hard for me to understand. We're not meant to love. Maybe this is why." Jareth said. "I've never had a proper relationship before Sarah, not involving living together and all of that. I'm clearly terrible at it."

"Tonight, you are. Jareth, you know that you can be a little nicer to me. You're better than them. Your mother raised you well." Sarah said, thinking of how shocked Arethusa would be if she knew what her son had said. The Empath was different to other Fae, and Sarah knew she would never tolerate such behaviour from her son.

"What if our children do turn out like me?" Jareth asked in a small voice, and Sarah thought he looked like a lost little boy. "I don't enjoy being cruel to you, Sarah. But my instincts are overwhelming in situations like that."

"Our children will grow up surrounded with love, knowing that it doesn't make you weak to show it. _You_ aren't weak, love." She said, going to sit on the bed. Her feet were swollen, and her head ached. "You're the strongest man I've ever known."

"Really?" Jareth asked, getting up from his knees and sitting beside her. He could see how exhausted she looked, and he lifted her from the edge of bed and placed her head on the pillows. She smiled at him; that was the Jareth she loved.

"Really. And I'm sorry for talking about divorce, but I do mean it. If I feel like you're being cruel for no reason, it will be over. I will not fear my husband. I walked away when I was fifteen, and I will walk away aged fifteen hundred if I feel like just a part of your game."

"I know. I almost lost you tonight, I know that. I told you I couldn't change, back on our very first date. I will try, I will really try."

"That's all I ask." Sarah said, and she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "And I need to hear you say it."

"Say what?" Jareth asked, trying to kiss her again. She shook her head; this wouldn't turn into sex, she still didn't want him to touch her, not yet.

"What I need to hear." She told him urgently, and his eyes met hers.

"I love you." He said tenderly, running a hand down her back.

"Again." She commanded him, burying her head in his shoulder.

"I love you, so very very much my precious girl. And I love our children. I will spend my life showing you how much I care for you. " He slipped her wedding ring back onto her finger. "Never take it off again, sweetness. I couldn't stand it."

"I can't forget what happened." She said, yawning as her eyes began to shut. "I'm not sure if I forgive you yet."

"That's alright, sweet thing. I wouldn't forgive me either."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for the huge amount of feedback for the last chapter. I'm sorry I made a few of you cry! Things aren't peachy yet, but they're looking a bit better. Please review!  
**


	30. After The Storm

In the quiet of the night, Sarah felt everything calm down. Her heart stopped racing, her thoughts turned from ones of anger to remorse, and she regretted how intense their argument had been. She'd slapped him for God's sake - she had promised herself that she would never strike anyone in anger, and she had done it to the man she loved.

She had been lying awake all night, unable to sleep at all. Everytime she closed her eyes, their argument ran round her head and made her chest feel so tight it might burst. She had been lying there, laternating between holding her bump and staring at Jareth sleeping. He looked so peaceful when he slept, and Sarah wondered what he was dreaming about.

"Are you asleep?" Sarah whispered, looking at Jareth. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly; all signs pointed to 'yes, he's asleep'. Sarah wanted to talk to him, to hold him and say sorry. She leaned into his chest, her fingers playing with his chest hair. He murmured in his sleep, and pulled her closer to him.

"Go back to sleep." He mumbled, his voice thick with lethargy."I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Okay." Sarah whispered, snuggling closer to him.

"Love you." He said, pressing a sleepy kiss to the top of her head.

"I love you too." She said quietly.

They had had arguments before, but this had been so fierce that it frightened her. His behaviour at the banquet had been unacceptable, but was hers any better? She had just stood there whilst those Fae insulted her. She was so desperate to fit in that she was just as bad as Jareth when it came to image.

She wriggled in the bed, trying to get comfortable. She had terrible heartburn, and got out of bed, walking around the room restlessly. The evening's events ran through her mind, and there was a niggling voice in the back of her head.

" _She believes it's love."_

It was hard to believe that there was no truth at all in these words; after all, they had come out of Jareth's mouth, she had heard them with her own ears, watched him laugh at her. He was a careful and calculated man, and Sarah wanted to believe that it had all been part of his act, but she wasn't so sure.

"We'll be okay, kids." She whispered, rubbing her stomach. "I'm sorry you had to hear Mommy and Daddy fight, but it'll be okay. I'll love you, no matter what."

"And I won't?" Jareth asked indignantly, and Sarah turned round to find him sitting up in bed watching her. He looked tired, his hair sticking up in even more random angles than normal. "They're not even born yet Sarah, don't make them hate me."

"I wasn't." She said defensively. "I was just reassuring them. I didn't know you were listening."

"We need to talk, Sarah. There's something that bothered me about our argument last night. Come, sit beside me." Jareth told her, patting her side of the bed.

She did as she was told, climbing on to the bed. Jareth watched as she sat cross legged in front of him, her round stomach resting on her ankles as she leaned forwards. He took her hand, and inhaled deeply.

"You need to understand that I don't want to start the argument again. But there was something you said that has truly disturbed me." He told her, his voice serious. Sarah looked at him, her heart racing.

"What?"

"Would you really divorce me over one mistake?" Jareth asked, his voice quiet and measured. He was trying to keep calm, Sarah could see it in his face.

"I don't know." Sarah said, frowning. "I was mad."

"I don't care that you were mad. You threatened to divorce me several times, to take my children with you and raise them alone. Do you understand how serious that is? You would give up on me so easily, you used divorce as a weapon in our fight. I would never, ever use our marriage like that, as though it is something that can be disposed."

"I didn't mean it like that." Sarah said, staring down at her hands. "I just didn't know-"

"If you wanted to be with me anymore?" Jareth asked. "I know you're young Sarah, but this is a marriage, the same as any human one. I was under the impression you knew that marriages require work, they go through rough patches."

"I know but-"

"But I wasn't exactly who you thought I was." Jareth interrupted her. "How many times did I tell you that the Fae were cold people? I wanted to believe that I would be different, but really I am just the same as them when I'm surrounded. When I'm with you, I am a better person - I'm still me, but you make me want to be a _nice_ person. I have to be hard, I have to be emotionless in my world. I don't think you understand the risks that would come with showing my true feelings."

"You keep saying that." Sarah frowned. "I think you're making excuses."

"Do you? Do you have any idea how many protection spells I had to cast over our house in London when we first consummated our relationship and my scent was on you?" Jareth asked her. He looked older all of a sudden, exhausted, and Sarah felt guilty.

"A few?" Sarah shrugged, and Jareth looked at her. "How many?"

"Nine hundred."

"Nine hundred?" She blinked in shock. She knew that he had had to protect her, but the amount of enchantments had never come up.

"Yes. I had spies all over that told me people were watching you. Had I not protected you properly, someone would have tried to kill you, kidnap you, whatever. Not just Juturna; she was probably the weakest threat, at least at first. Our life was at risk all the time, I just kept it from you. Do you think I would protect you like that if I didn't love you with everything I have?"

"I guess not."

"You doubt me, I know you do. That's my own fault. I need to earn your trust back. But in truth Sarah, I'm not sure how much I trust you anymore. You would take my children away from me." Jareth said quietly. "I almost died trying to stop Juturna, and it feels as though you have no idea what kind of danger you would all be in without me. You can't even change your clothes using magic, how would you protect them? Even if they were mortal, they'd be prime targets to hurt me."

"I didn't think about that." Sarah admitted, cradling her stomach. "I was just so angry."

"No matter how angry you get, divorce is not something you can use just like that. You need to think carefully about whether or not you wish our Underground wedding to go ahead."

"I do." She said instantly, and Jareth looked unsure. He was making her feel like a small child, and she realised for the first time that maybe 22 was kind of young to get married - especially to a man who had fifteen hundred, nine hundred and ninety nine years of life experience on you.

"Sarah, you took your wedding ring off and threw it at me. That doesn't strike me as someone who takes their marriage seriously." Jareth said, looking irritated. He was sat cross legged opposite her with no shirt on, and he still managed to look imposing.

"I was angry!" She said, sounding angry again.

"You need to control your temper!" He shot back at her. "Do you realise how strong you are? Your slap almost broke my jaw." She squinted at him, and in the dim light of dawn she could see a dark bruise near his chin.

"It did?" Sarah asked, not realising she'd hurt him that badly.

"Luckily for you I had prepared myself. Sarah, I need to address that as well. I am King here, and you must never, ever strike me. If anyone else did, they could be executed. Aside from my royal status, I am your husband. I would never lay a hand on you, and I expect the same from you."

"I know you wouldn't." She said quietly, and she felt shame spread through her. Physical violence was never the answer, and she knew that if he had hit her like that she would have left straight away.

"I am willing to forgive you for it now, but I will not tolerate it again." He warned her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, as if worried he was being too harsh with her. She accepted the kiss and looked down at her feet, shamefaced.

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"I am too. I know I was wrong, but it's the way I am." He said quietly. "I wish it was different, but it's the way it has to be."

"It's not the way you are with me." Sarah said quietly. "You went from being _so_ loving, _so_ supportive to not even listening to me when I had a problem. If we were Above, I could stand up for myself, but it's not like I could call those girls out for saying I looked like an elephant, is it? I had to make a good impression and getting into a fight wouldn't have done that."

"Storming out didn't exactly do that either." Jareth said irritably, and Sarah felt herself bristle at his tone.

"I didn't storm. I left the room." Sarah said pointedly. "You were the one who made a big show of it."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"We have stuff to work on, don't we?" Sarah said quietly, and Jareth moved her closer to him, so her legs went either side of his body and there wasn't an inch between them. She hugged him, wrapping her legs around his hips.

"We do." He agreed, kissing her hair. "I just need to know that you won't give up on us so easily. I would kill for you, I'm going to have to kill for you. I need to know it won't be for nothing."

"I don't want you to kill for me!" She said in horror.

"Yeg will have to die." He said firmly. "But that isn't the point. I need to know that my sacrifices are worth it, that this marriage is forever for you. If it isn't, maybe I've made a mistake."

"It is." She said firmly. "I'm sorry. I was upset."

"I know you were, precious. But please, please never threaten to take the children away from me. I would fight for them, you know. I would fight for you too, but if you were lost to me, I would fight to see my children above all else."

"I know."

"I'm not sure you understand how much you hurt me last night. Can you imagine if I threatened to take the children once they were born and keep them in a separate world away from you? How would that make you feel?"

"Bad." She said, unable to articulate just how 'bad' it would make her feel.

"They need to be kept close to me; things are unstable enough Sarah, and they are my heirs. More importantly, they are my _children_."

"I was wrong." She admitted. "I would never want them to grow up without you. I don't want to be without you either. I was lashing out."

"You don't say." Jareth said wryly. "I would never have guessed."

"I'm sorry, I let my emotions and my hormones take over last night. I do mean it though; you can still have your big alpha male status and not let people trash me like that. How are they going to respect me as Queen if you make fun of me? If you let women flirt with you when I'm sitting right there watching? Use me as part of your defense, show them we're a team that nobody could ever break up, that we make each other stronger."

"I never thought of it like that." He admitted. "I'm just so scared someone will hurt you. You're a beautiful woman, Sarah, and a novelty. That alone would be enough for the more undesirables to set their sights on you, but then you're my chosen mate. That makes you a truly valuable bounty. Add to that the two heirs you carry inside you."

"Bounty? I'm not a treasure chest." Sarah said crossly, and she saw a ghost of a smile cross his lips.

"You know what I mean, darling. I'm terrified." He said quietly, so quietly Sarah had to lean closer to hear him.

"You are?" She asked him in surprise.

"I don't talk about my feelings too often Sarah, but I do have them. Yes, I'm terrified. But I promise, next time we're in a situation like that I won't be needlessly cruel like I was tonight."

"That's all I ask." She said, smiling as his hands caressed her stomach through her nightgown. "I never thought this would be easy, but it's much harder than I expected it to be." She admitted.

"I know it is, precious. I want to make it better for you, and I just ended up making everything much worse."

"I didn't exactly help. Your poor jaw." She said, stroking the bruised skin. He inhaled sharply at the sting of pain. Maybe it was broken after all. "Can I heal it?"

"Please."

She shut her eyes, and smiled as the now familiar feeling of magic tingled in her fingertips. She opened an eye and saw Jareth's jawbone glowing. After a minute, the magic subsided and Jareth rubbed at the spot where her fingers had been.

"Thank you." He said. "Can we go back to sleep now? I've a full day of hearing petitions ahead and I'm exhausted."

"I'm not tired. Can you open the mirror? I want to go to London, just for a while." She still needed time to think; about her own actions more than anything else.

"Sarah.." He said, exasperated; she still wanted to run away from him.

"I'll be back later, and I won't go outside. I promise." She told him. "We have a scan tomorrow, by the way."

"I know. Back in six hours. My mother wants to see you today. I'll meet you in here at-" He squinted at the clock on the wall. "Midday."

"She does?" Sarah asked, frowning. "How do you know?"

"She sent me a message whilst you were sleeping."

"Is she mad at me too?" Sarah sighed, thinking of Arethusa's kind face.

"Not mad. Concerned, I would say." Jareth told her. Sarah hovered by the mirror, and Jareth was reluctant to let her leave.

"Oh." There was an awkward pause between them. "Can you open the mirror?"

"You're going like that?" He said with a raised eyebrow, looking at her in her long nightgown.

"Yeah? I'm just staying in the house." She was actually planning to go back to bed; it was hard to think objectively when the man she desired so deeply was lying next to her. She wanted to think, and sleep for a while too.

"Sarah, if you're uncomfortable being around me, just say so." Jareth said, sounding hurt. Sarah sighed, rubbing her forehead. Her head ached, and the babies were moving so much that it made it difficult to concentrate.

"I just need some time on my own, Jareth. It's not like I'm leaving you, I just need some space."

"Alright." He said begrudgingly; he would admit it to Sarah, but he was terrified she would use this time away from him to escape from him. He was feeling paranoid, confused and he didn't like it one bit.

He waved a hand and the mirror showed their bedroom in London. Sarah gave him a polite peck on the mouth, before stepping through it. He could see her through the mirror, and she waved him goodbye.

"Close it behind me." She instructed him firmly.

"Why?" Jareth asked, frowning. She never asked him to close it when she popped back and forth to get something, and it made him uneasy.

"Just close it." Sarah shrugged.

"As you wish." He waved a hand, and Sarah was gone.

* * *

As soon as she was happy the mirror was closed and Jareth could no longer see her, Sarah burst into tears. The whole night had been so confusing, and she felt as though she had aged overnight. She crawled into their bed and smashed her face into the pillow, muffling the sound her of her sadness until she fell asleep.

She was awoken by someone shaking her, and she sat up and screamed. When her eyes focused, she saw it was Jareth.

"Sarah, you were meant to come back after six hours. That was eight hours ago. I was worried." His voice was hard, with none of the humour or affection she was used to.

"Why? You knew I was here." She yawned, stretching. "I didn't sleep much last night."

"Why couldn't you sleep beside me?" Jareth asked, and Sarah saw that he looked more hurt than pissed off. "You're late to see my mother, you should get dressed."

"Oh." Sarah scrabbled out of bed. She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, getting dressed in human clothes quickly. "Okay, okay I think I'm ready."

"Sarah, you need new clothes. That top doesn't cover your stomach." He said, looking down at her protruding bump.

"Dammit!" She rummaged in her drawers for a loose fitting jumper, and shoved that over her head. "Better?"

"You really should start dressing like a Fae, you know." He said, running his eyes over her casual outfit.

"I know, but this is comfier." She shrugged indifferently, and Jareth looked at her sternly.

"It would be more appropriate if you dressed properly, Sarah."

"I will, when I don't have two squirming children inside me, okay?!" She snapped back at him. He'd never made any comment about her wardrobe before, and she wondered if this was because of the argument. "Can you take me? I don't want to keep your mother waiting anymore."

"Fine." He touched her shoulder, and within seconds they were outside Arethusa's private rooms. Jareth knocked on the door, and Sarah heard his mother call for them to come in.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Sarah said, and Arethusa held a hand to stop her.

"It's fine, child. I know how tiring pregnancy can be, especially after a late night. Son, perhaps you should leave Sarah and I alone." Arethusa said, glancing at her daughter in law's glum expression and seeing her son glaring at her.

"Of course." Without another word, he vanished. Sarah stared blankly at the place where he had just been; he would usually kiss her goodbye, even in front of his mother, or at least _say_ goodbye.

"You are troubled, darling girl. You are both troubled." Arethusa looked at her carefully, and Sarah felt her shoulders sag.

"Is it that obvious?" Sarah sighed, and Arethusa gestured for her to sit.

"I'm sorry I did not get a chance to speak with you much last night. I did however see Jareth's behaviour at the dinner table, and Pyra told me he seemed unsettled when he spoke with her. Did you two have some kind of an argument?"

"Um, yeah." Sarah said, not sure how much she should tell Jareth's mother. He was a very private man, and Sarah was reluctant to tell of their private conversations. "It really doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Sarah. You are both unhappy."

"It was just a stupid fight, it will be fine." Sarah said, though she wasn't sure she believed herself. "We've apologized."

"You were displeased with his demeanor, weren't you?" Arethusa asked, and Sarah nodded. "He was only trying to protect you, dear. It must have been a strain for him to act so aloof, he is so posessive over you."

"It was horrible." She said sadly. "I don't know if it was a 'strain' for him but it was possibly the most unpleasant night of my life. My powers of tongue have come."

"They have?" Arethusa asked in Fae, and Sarah smiled at the test.

"Yes, they have. And I had to listen to everyone saying rude things about me. Then, I heard Jareth talking to his father and some other men. I won't go into details, but suffice to say Jareth joined in."

"That must have hurt you, dear. I know it must be difficult to hear the person you love saying unkind things. Fae do it all the time; I do not, I find it to be quite harsh. It is a cruel world, our world. I wonder if you are too gentle for us."

"I want to fit in." Sarah said, trying not to cry. "I thought I knew exactly what being Jareth's Queen would entail, but now I'm not so sure."

"Do you wish to call off the wedding?" Arethusa asked, taking Sarah's hand. "You must think carefully, child. Once entered into, our marriages are for life."

"No, I don't. Jareth is my soulmate, and I love him. He loves me too, I know he does."

"Then everything will fall into place. You still have the heart of a human, if I am free to say so. Everything is so driven by emotion, you allow your heart to rule you. You need to think logically, deviously - as we do."

"Even you?" Sarah asked, unable to imagine Arethusa being devious.

"Even me." Arethusa said with a shrug. "I am kind to those close to me, Sarah, but I am High Queen. I know when I must act like a Queen, and when I must act like a wife."

"And I need to learn to act like a Queen too?" She asked hesitantly, trying to understand the older woman's words.

"Yes. Act like a Queen, act like a Fae, and you will find life becomes much easier for you. I wish the best for you, Sarah. You are a good influence on my son, and a wonderful person."

"I don't feel so wonderful right now." Sarah said miserably. "I feel like a failiure."

"No. You are learning. Education is a slow process. I will support you, I will help you in any way I can."

"You will?" Sarah sniffed, trying not to cry. This was what she needed; proper support rather than being yelled at for all the things she didn't know.

"I will. I want you to come to me every day. I will teach you properly, not like Jareth."

"I won't be able to come tomorrow, I have a doctor's appointment Above."

"The day after then." Arethusa smiled. "I can tell you're feeling a little better already."

"I am." Sarah smiled. "I really am."

* * *

 **A/N: All this arguing is making me feel tense! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, there have been so many I'm a bit overwhelmed!**

 **I'm so glad you're all enjoying the story. I can't believe I've hit 30 chapters in a month! I want to finish the story before you all get bored, but there's just so much I want to write about that it's hard to keep it short.**

 **Please review!**


	31. A New Arrival

Jareth left Sarah with his mother, not bothering to say goodbye. He was irritated; he had been waiting for her to return for two hours, not wanting to invade her privacy by just going to get her. When he had eventually opened the mirror, he had seen she was sleeping soundly. It irritated him for reasons he didn't quite understand.

He had spent all morning dealing with stupid problems; the Goblins did have real problems, but today it was all squabbles and requests for more chickens. He had however received word that he was being visited by Lord Iralla. Iralla was a powerful Lord, one that controlled huge portions of the Pixie Kingdom, the border country of the Goblin Kingdom - he owned vast amounts of land, and that bought him influence. Jareth needed him on side - the Pixies were his allies for now, but it was a shaky union that he didn't trust.

He took himself away to his office, sitting at his desk and rubbing his forehead in frustration. He'd been thinking about Sarah all morning; he had no idea what to do. He could call off the wedding and stay a bachelor Underground and continue as they had been before they came here. Sarah wouldn't like it; the children would be illegitimate, even if they had magic. She would still be his wife, and he would remain faithful, but she wouldn't be his Queen.

The more he thought about that, the more ridiculous it sounded. Sarah would never agree to it; she would see it as an end to their relationship. She had become Fae because he had promised her that he would always be by her side, that they would marry as soon as she was truly Fae. Now the time had come, and he was thinking about going back on his promise. Maybe Sarah was right. Maybe he was an ass.

A knock on the door disturbed him, and a goblin came in, looking at the ground. They all knew the King was in a terrible mood; he had kicked eight goblins this morning alone.

"Lord Iralla is here to see you, Sire." The goblin said, still refusing to look him in the eyes.

"Bring him in here. I do not wish to go to the throne room." Jareth said wearily, summoning another chair. The Lord was fat and suffered with the rich man's disease gout. He clearly had terrible healers, but Jareth wasn't about to comment on medical matters.

The little creature scurried off, and a moment later Iralla appeared at the door.

"Your Highness. Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"Come in, you may sit." The man walked unsteadily to the chair and sat down.

"I will not waste time with small talk. I wish to voice my concerns." Iralla spoke, his voice loud. Jareth eyed him with amusement; it was typical of the Fae to come and stick his nose where it did not belong.

"Oh?" Jareth asked, appearing bored.

"I do not believe your changeling is an appropriate choice of wife."

"Fortunately, I did not ask for your opinion." Jareth said cooly, looking the man up and down. "You come to offer me marriage advice? I am touched at your concern."

"Will she be a fit Queen? What does she know of the Underground?" Iralla demanded, and Jareth laughed.

"Of the Underground? Little. Of my Kingdom? A great deal." Jareth said lightly, flicking through documents. This conversation bored him already.

"She has been here such a short amount of time, what could she possibly know?"

Jareth thought for a moment, and then decided he would put his faith in Sarah.

"She's the Labyrinth's Champion." He said simply, enjoying the shocked look on Iralla's face.

"The Labyrinth has no champion."

"Oh, it does. It is Sarah. She is truly a remarkable young woman, and I knew as soon as I saw her that she was the woman I wanted to make my wife. She did not fall down at my feet as so many others did in the hope I would make her Queen."

"She fell into your bed quickly enough." Iralla said. "How else would she be Fae? Not to mention the fact she is heavily with child."

"She's been in my bed, but it took me seven years to get her there." Jareth shrugged. "I always get what I want in the end."

"She bedded you to become powerful, clearly. Humans are always hungry for immortality." Iralla said dismissvely, and Jareth narrowed his eyes at him.

"She bedded me because she loved me."

"Love?" Iralla laughed. "You speak of love?"

"I do." Jareth said firmly. "I tire of interference. I understand your daughter was saying some rather unsavory things about my betrothed last night. Perhaps she should watch her tongue."

"I have heard nothing of this." Iralla said; he would have to speak to Lyneh, tell her to keep gossip to private rooms. It reflected badly on their family to have his only child gossiping like a fish wife at royal events.

"Sarah heard her. If I wasn't a merciful man, such indiscretion against the intended Queen could be taken badly." Jareth said lightly, and Iralla had the decency to look embarassed.

"I'm sure she meant nothing by it." He said quickly. "You and she are old friends."

"Friends is one way to put it." Jareth said irritably. "Why did you come here Iralla?"

"I was concerned about your choice of bride, I told you."

"I suppose you would approve if I had asked Lyneh for her hand."

"Naturally." Iralla said honestly. "She would make a fine Queen."

"Would she? She has very few redeemable qualities. Spiteful rulers never last long, they lack the ability to think logically. Sarah has logic, she has empathy. It will make her quite unique."

"If I were King-"

Jareth stopped him there; Iralla was so far from the Throne even the goblins had a claim before him. His demeanor hardened, and he knew now was the time to assert his dominance.

"Unfortunately for you, I am King. I understand you have money, land and influence but so do I. And I have a crown, a Kingdom, countless allies and my Father on my side. I am tired of feeling that I have to justify my relationship. You may tell anyone else who has concerns that they may keep them to themselves or feel my anger first hand."

"What do your people think of your choice?" Iralla asked pointedly, and Jareth smiled, knowing this was one area he didn't have to worry about.

"The goblins adore her. She has met them, spent time with them. I care about my people, and my people care about her in turn. I need to focus on what is best for my Kingdom, not what the other Fae think."

"The other Fae, as you put it, are political leaders and masters of industry. Do we not matter?" Iralla asked indignantly, and Jareth shrugged.

"Not in this case. Hardly anyone bothered to speak to Sarah; I'm sure they will find her as enchanting as I do when they engage with her. It is a shame our society is so against humans that they would treat her with such contempt."

"She is not unpleasant, but to be Queen?"

"She will make a wonderful Queen." Jareth said firmly, and he realised that he wasn't lying. "She needs some time to adjust, but she will show you just how great she can be."

"I hope you're right, Sire. There has been talk of the situation with your sister."

"Juturna is mad, she killed her husband. What talk is there?"

"Why is she still alive?" Illara pressed, and Jareth took a deep breath. He would tell nobody of what Juturna had done, it would only put them all in more danger. He had even told the Elves only the bare details of the situation.

"She is still alive because my mother wishes it. You would question the High Queen?"

"No." Illara said; he was fond of his cousin, and respected her as a ruler. "I trust Juturna will be dealt with in time?"

"Yes, in time. If you're quite finished questioning how I deal with those who have wronged me, I have other things to do today."

"As do I. I merely wished to warn you that people are wary of Sarah. You must do more to get others on side, or you could have some real trouble."

"From you?" Jareth's eyes flashed dangerously, and Iralla shrank back. Jareth was truly powerful and intimidating, and this man was a fool to try and dictate to him like this. He had enough power and influence to stir up trouble, but Jareth was confident he could crush him in combat if needed.

"No. No, not from me. I am too old for rebellion." Iralla laughed. "There is another thing. Lyneh needs a match, she is too old not to be married."

"I will find someone for her." Jareth shrugged; it was well known by the Fae in the high society that he and Lyneh had been involved, and it could turn some men away from the woman. He would find some man who needed money and give her to him, it would be simple. "It may take a while; if you hadn't noticed, my own personal life is rather busy at the moment."

"Of course Sire." Iralla stood, and bowed. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Just tell anyone who voices any concerns over Sarah that she will blossom into a fine Queen. I will not tolerate talk against her." Jareth said firmly, realising that if he didn't defend her, she would never stand a chance. He had been an idiot.

* * *

Sarah returned to the Goblin City after nightfall, and was greeted by the sounds of thunder. Rain battered the castle, winds howling. Jareth had sent a message saying he would be unable to collect her, and that she should make her own way home. She had done so, landing in their bedroom. It was dark and empty, lightening brightening the room for a moment and then plunging it back into darkness. Sarah didn't know how to light the candles' there were no matches, and Jareth normally did it with just a wave of his hand.

She had no idea where he would be, and she didn't want to appear in a room if he was having a meeting there. Things were bad enough without him shouting at her for ruining some diplomatic treaty or something. She fumbled her way to the bed, lying down. She figured this was the safest place to wait for him to come back.

The babies kicked, and Sarah winced a little. She lifted her top up and rubbed her bare belly. She smiled, feeling happy for the first time in hours. Things seemed less bleak, less hopeless. She was marrying the man she loved, Arethusa had promised to help her and she had these two little beans jumping around.

Sarah watched from the bed as the storm continued, rain battering the glass. She wondered where Jareth was; it was late, and he was usually finished for the day by now. She sat for what felt like hours in the darkness, and she slowly grew more and more annoyed that he wasn't here. She was too tired to go to London, and she knew he would be angry if she left without telling him anyway. So she lay there, trying not to fall asleep, waiting for him.

He finally came back, the door opening with such force Sarah was surprised it didn't come off the hinges. She yelped with surprise, and he waved a hand. The candles were lit, and he jumped slightly to see her lying there.

"I thought you'd be in London." He said indifferently, sitting down on the bed and yanking his boots off. He hadn't kissed her hello like he normally did.

"No, why would I be there?" Sarah asked, confused. "If you'd have bothered to say goodbye to me at your mother's I would have told you I'd be here tonight."

"You seem to find the idea of sleeping besides me intolerable."

"I didn't meant to go to sleep there!" Sarah said, her defenses immediately rising. She had been waiting for him for hours, and the first thing he did was pick another fight with her. "I was just tired."

"How was my mother?" Jareth asked, completely changing the subject. He stood up, unbuttoning his trousers. He always changed into more comfortable clothes after wearing regal attire all day.

"Helpful." Sarah said, eyeing him carefully. His movements were erratic, forceful and she didn't like it. He seemed agitated.

"How so?" He asked, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it aside. He was still changing the mortal way, just because he knew that she liked it. It gave her hope that all was not lost.

"She's going to help me learn how to act like a Queen." Sarah said, and Jareth nodded expressionlessly.

"Speaking of that, I've decided to push the wedding back a month." He told her casually, and she sat up in alarm.

"Why?!"

"To give you time to think."

"Think about what?"

"Whether you wish to marry me or not."

"Jareth, I said sorry! I still love you, I didn't mean all the horrible things I said. How could you change the date of our wedding without consulting me?! That means by the time we marry I'll be almost eight months pregnant, and you _know_ twins can come early! I might go into labour at our reception!"

"It was the right decision." Jareth said with a shrug, completely ignoring all of her fears.

"The right decision for you." Sarah said, and she felt tears prick her eyes. "I'm starting to think you don't want to marry me at all. I've been thinking about last night, and the more I think about it the more I think that you refuse to accept any responsibility for what happened."

"Like what?" Jareth asked incredulously. Sarah couldn't believe he even had to ask, and began her tirade.

"Like the fact you allowed me to go to a banquet without properly telling me what would happen! I know no etiquette, I have no idea about social norms, nothing. You threw me at the wolves and got mad at me when I got torn apart! You expected me just to fit into this world and it's my fault that I didn't!"

"It's not your fault, I should have known you weren't ready."

"I wasn't ready because you made no effort to make me ready! I'm so sick of fighting with you Jareth but you are being the most selfish prick I've ever met!"

"Selfish? Sarah, do you have any idea-"

"Of how much you've risked to be with me? Yes, I do actually. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not even be the same species you were born as? To be surrounded by people who loathe you just because you're different?! To feel like the father of your children doesn't care about you enough to realise that you've been lying waiting for him for five God damn hours in the dark because you don't know how to turn any lights on around here?" Sarah said, her voice growing slowly more hysterical with every word. She burst into frustrated sobs, her chest aching. "I feel so alone, Jareth. I need you and you're blaming me for everything."

"Sarah, you're being ridiculous."

"There you go again! Completely dismissing my feelings, like they don't matter. I want to marry you, Jareth. You're being an idiot right now but imagining my life without you in it hurts. It really fucking hurts. But I need to know that you have my back! The next few months are going to be really hard and I need to be able to count on you. I made rash comments about divorce, but I didn't mean them and I'm sorry. But I can't have you resent me for the rest of our lives."

"You're right." He said quietly. He was almost completely naked, save for some underwear. He sat down beside her, and he looked completely deflated. "I've been angry all day. I came in here and I wanted a fight. I'm sorry for that."

"I want my husband back." She said quietly, and she got off the bed and wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders. "I hate arguing with you, I hate feeling like you're not on my side. I love you and I want you to act like the Jareth I fell in love with.

"I want my wife." Jareth told her passionately, grabbing her hands and staring at her straight in the eyes. "I want my wife besides me always. I've been an idiot. It took a conversation with Lyneh's father to make me see I was behaving exactly like them. I didn't listen to you at all."

"Yeah, you didn't." Sarah told him firmly. "I agreed to marry you but so far all I've heard about is _your_ sacrifice, how difficult it is for _you_. I'm going to work on being a better Fae. I need you to meet me half way. Don't be rude to me, don't treat me badly to make yourself look like the big man. I want to be a proper queen; your father is never rude to your mother in public, and they are respected."

"My father is normally so drunk he doesn't know his arse from a hole in the ground." Jareth said, and Sarah laughed despite herself. "I was wrong to be rude to you. But you mustn't storm out or argue with me at events. I will watch my own behaviour. It was wrong and petty of me to flirt in front of you, and to say those things. i didn't mean them."

"Deal. We need to talk about our feelings. I know it's not exactly in your nature but you're right, this is a proper marriage and we need to tell each other how we feel or we won't survive. I swear I will never mention divorce again, or use our kids as a weapon. My parents did that with me." She admitted, and Jareth murmured in understanding. "I guess I just copied what I saw when I was growing up. I don't have many examples of marriage to go on, Jareth. I'm just making it up as I go along."

"Me too love. I have no idea what I'm doing. I thought I had prepared you, but I suppose it's easy to believe what you want to believe."

"It's a lot for me to deal with. I'm so worried about the babies." Sarah admitted, rubbing her stomach. "I don't like to talk about it because I know you're trying to fix it, but I just want them to be alright."

"You must tell me your worries Sarah. I'm worried too. I haven't found anything yet, though Yeg told me there is a way to fix it. Exactly how I fix it is another matter, the rat isn't talking."

"Are you torturing him?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Jareth replied instantly, seeing no point in lying about it. "Is that a problem?"

"No." Sarah shrugged, seeing no problem with Jareth making the man who had harmed her children as miserable as possible. "Just make sure you're doing it properly."

"Now you're talking like a Fae." He smiled, and he pulled her to him. "I love you so much, precious. I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never doubt it again."

"Okay." Sarah said hesitantly. "I just need to feel like you're on my side. I know we're never going to see eye to eye on everything, but if you're belittling me and not supporting me, this is never going to work."

"I know." Jareth peppered her neck with kisses, and she whimpered at his touch. Suddenly, he pulled back and held up a hand. "Wait."

"What?" Sarah asked, frowning in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, a voice filled the room. It was a woman's, and she said the words Sarah hadn't heard for seven years.

 _"I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away right now!"_

Jareth groaned; this was the worst time for a wished away babe. Nothing for seven years, and they had to be said now?

"I need to go." He sighed, pressing one last kiss to Sarah's neck.

"Okay." Sarah said hesitantly. "Be nice to her."

Jareth looked at her; he was surprised she wasn't yelling at him that she couldn't take someone's child. Perhaps she really was thinking more like a Fae now.

"I can't be 'nice' to her, Sarah. I'll do my duty." Jareth said firmly. "I will allow the Labyrinth to do it's job."

"She'll have a tough time in all this rain." Sarah said, frowning out of the window.

"Yes. Anyway, I must go." He disappeared, and Sarah imagined him turning up at this poor woman's house in a shower of glitter.

She wasn't sure how she felt about what was about to happen; Jareth was ruthless in protecting the Labyrinth, and Sarah had worked out that defeat weakened it, as though it was a living thing. It made Jareth look weak if someone beat him; she was the only one who ever had, she knew. No wonder he was so obsessed with appearances and keeping her triumph so quiet. Even Jareth's father had not heard about it.

Jareth returned almost instantly, holding a bawling, dirty baby. The child looked to be around nine months old, alert with chubby little cheeks and a shock of brown hair. Sarah stood up and took the baby from him, her maternal instinct taking over.

"What happened?" She asked, jiggling the baby to try and calm them down. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl." Jareth said, and Sarah noticed he was dressed in the same outfit he had worn when she'd met him for the first time. Like a uniform for taking babies. "The mother is running, but I don't think she'll get far."

"This baby is filthy." Sarah said sadly. "But well fed. Where did you find them?"

"The mother was in a flat alone, the place looked dirty." He shrugged. "I didn't spend much time asking questions, precious. It was rather sad, really. The mother looked like a child herself."

"What will happen to her?" Sarah asked. "Not just the baby, the mother too."

"She can't win, Sarah. When she fails, the baby will go to Fae parents who will cherish her. The mother will have no memory of her, and life will go on." Jareth shrugged, rubbing his forehead. There was another crash of thunder, and the baby cried even more.

"I've never seen weather like this here. It's always been sunny." Sarah said, changing the subject to try and distract herself from the sadness she felt at the mother's plight.

"Yes, that's my fault I'm afraid." Jareth said. "The weather reflects my mood. I thought you might have worked that out."

"I had no idea. So the storm.."

"Is because I'm unhappy. When I am in a good mood, the weather is bright. When I am angry, thunder. It's a strange connection between the Labyrinth and it's ruler, and it rather gives the game away that I have emotions." He said bitterly. "It's why I try to keep them under control."

"Why is it still horrible out?" Sarah asked, as the baby calmed down in her arms. "I thought we were working it out? Are you still mad at me?"

"We are working things out, precious. I'm sure it will clear up soon. I should take the baby to the goblins, they will bathe her." Jareth said, going to take the baby from Sarah. She turned away, stroking the baby's hair protectively.

"I'll do it." Sarah told him firmly. "The goblins will frighten her. What's her name, did the mother say?"

"Her name is Rosie." Jareth said. "It was written on her cot."

"Hello Rosie." Sarah said, and the baby took her finger in her hand. "I'm Sarah. I'm going to take care of you. Shall we clean you up, hey?"

* * *

A few hours later, Sarah was propped up by pillows on their bed, Rosie snuggled into her chest. The baby slept soundly, making snuffly sounds. Jareth was next to them, watching the mother closely through a crystal. She had made little progress, and was currently crying in a heap.

"What was their house like?" Sarah asked quietly, and Jareth shuddered.

"Awful. This baby has not come from a happy home." Jareth said, remembering the mess and squalor. She had been confused, desperate, alone. Really, it was a mercy taking the baby from her - for both of them.

"I could tell. The poor mom must be struggling, it's not our place to judge her." Sarah said, running a finger along Rosie's button nose. "Rosie will end up in a better place now, thanks to her."

"I thought you would be angry that I had to take a child away." Jareth said, not moving his eyes from the crystal.

"I'm not fifteen anymore, Jareth. I really am trying to understand how this works, and I get that it's part of your role as Goblin King. I would have a problem if you were being needlessly cruel to her, but you've left her alone." Sarah watched in the crystal as the mother sobbed, and she felt truly sorry for her.

"Jareth, do something. She's never going to make it, put her out of her misery."

"She has seven hours left." Jareth said, gazing into the crystal.

"She's never going to win. Offer her her dreams again. She'll take it this time, I bet she will. Tell her the baby will be safe." Sarah urged him, and Jareth thought for a moment before nodding.

"Fine." Jareth vanished, the crystal with him.

The baby stirred in her arms, and Sarah smiled down at her.

"It's going to be alright, Rosie. We're going to find you a new mommy and daddy, ones that'll take real good care of you. And I'll come visit you to make sure you're okay. If you're not, I'll kick their butts." The baby began to cry, and Sarah rocked her. "Are you hungry cutie?" Sarah stuck her hand out and twisted it, and a bottle appeared in her hand. The baby took it and drank greedily.

"Wonderful." Jareth was back, and he climbed up onto the bed. "That was excellent summoning control; how did you know she was hungry?"

"Magic." Sarah smiled. "Mother's instinct, maybe? I mean, babies cry because they're hungry, tired or need a diaper change. I had a one in three shot."

"I need to take her to her new family."

"You were quick. She took the crystal then?" Sarah asked, watching the baby eat. "Good. So what will everyone Above think?"

"They won't remember her." Jareth said softly. "And I've given the mother a fresh start. I could see her boyfriend abandoned her with the babe, and she was far away and estranged from her family. I've fixed it."

"You did?" Sarah frowned. "That was kind of you."

"You make me feel kind." Jareth told her sincerely. "Rules state that I cannot return the child to her, but they say nothing about improving things for the runner."

"That was a good thing you did." Sarah said, a smile on her lips.

"Keep it quiet, can't have word getting out that I'm not a complete bastard." Jareth said with a grin, and Sarah laughed. "I should take the child to her new family. They've been waiting for a blessing like this one."

"Let her finish her dinner first." Sarah said, watching the child guzzling the bottle down. "Then you can take her."

They sat in silence for a while, the only sound they could hear Rosie sucking loudly on the bottle. Sarah smiled down at her; she was a sweet child.

"We can't pretend everything is normal Sarah." Jareth said after a while, and Sarah didn't look up from the baby.

"I know."

"I'm sorry though." He said, and Sarah hummed in agreement.

"I am too. I guess we just need to be patient with each other. We've been in our own little world for the last year; this is all a bit of a shock." Sarah said; the honeymoon period had been blissful, but reality had well and truly set in.

"You're doing well, darling. The way you've cared for this one makes me see how strong you are." He kissed her. "You haven't argued with me about taking her in the first place."

"No. I think in this case, maybe it was for the best." The baby finished eating, and Sarah smiled down at her. "You'll find her a good home?"

"There's a family waiting for her. They can't have children. She'll be treasured."

"Good. I'd like to see her again, when she's settled. She's adorable." Sarah said, as the baby offered her a gummy smile.

"I'm sure they'd allow that." Jareth smiled. He sat up and took the babe from her. "You're so good with children, darling."

"Am I?" She smiled, and she rubbed her belly fondly. "I guess I'm practicing. Don't be too long, we have a scan in a few hours. I can't wait to see them."

"I'll be back in time." Jareth promised. "Try and get some sleep precious."

"Alright." Sarah said, yawning. "I love you."

"And I love you."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review!  
**


	32. Learning Lessons

Sarah woke up and stretched, looking over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Jareth had returned from delivering the child to her new home, and was sleeping soundly besides her. She looked at the Above clock they kept by the bed, and swore.

"Jareth, wake up. My scan's in half an hour, we're going to be late."

"Huh?" Jareth asked sleepily, sitting up. "What?"

"My twenty four week scan, we gotta go back to London so I can get changed. Then they need to do tests before the scan to make sure everything looks alright." Sarah said; she wasn't sure how Fae biology worked, but asides from the lack of iron in her blood everything seemed to be quite similar to human bloodwork.

"Alright, I'm up." He waved a hand and the mirror opened. Sarah launched herself through it, slathering makeup over her markings as soon as she reached her vanity. "You really need to learn how to glamour yourself darling." Jareth called through, and Sarah glared at him from another world.

"I know. I'll add it to the list of shit I need to get done. Can you get dressed?"

He waved a hand, and was in his Above disguise, wearing a jumper and jeans.

"Done." He said smugly, crossing his arms and watching her. "I'm waiting for you now."

Sarah was wrestling with a pair of leggings that refused to stretch over her bump. "I'll be ready in two seconds." She yelped as the fabric ripped around the thighs. "Maybe two minutes."

Jareth stepped through the mirror, closing the connection. Sarah was pulling a loose dress over her head - and groaned when she realised it wasn't quite as loose as it used to be.

"Sarah, you really need to go shopping." Jareth said, trying not to laugh. "Nothing fits you." He waved his hand and her leggings repaired themselves, the dress expanded a little.

"Don't rub it in." Sarah said angrily. "This will have to do, alright? Let's go, wise ass."

A little while later, Sarah was lying on the uncomfortable hospital bed, stomach exposed, waiting for the sonographer to come in. Jareth was restless, and was currently studying a rather graphic picture of the birthing process that made Sarah wince.

"Remind me to make you stay near my head." She told him sternly, and he laughed.

"In the Underground, men aren't allowed in the birthing room. I'm beginning to think that sounds like a good idea." Jareth said, still studying the poster. He turned his head to the side and grimaced.

"Well, I'm giving birth up here obviously, and you're coming in so I can squeeze your hand and shout at you."

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a jaunty salute, and she laughed. Things were slowly returning to normal between them, the ice thawing. "I'm going to go and see Juturna this afternoon."

"You are?" Sarah asked in surprise. "I thought you didn't want to see her anymore."

"I'm having no luck with Yeg, so I thought I'd go straight to the source." He told her, stroking her hair gently. She nodded, and Jareth saw her bite her lip with worry.

"I'm going to read more books too, there's gotta be something in one of them." Sarah said, determined to find a way to give her babies magic once again. "As long as they're healthy, that's all that counts. We need to remember that, alright?"

"I know darling." Jareth said, but he knew that he couldn't give up. There was a knock at the door, and the Sonographer came in.

"Hello! 24 weeks already, it's whizzing past." She said with a smile, and Sarah smiled back at her, trying to hide her nerves. She was nervous at every appointment, terrified that there would be something wrong. Juturna had control over them, that's what it felt like, and Sarah was worried she had done something to them. She knew she was being irrational; Juturna had no magic and the damage was done.

"I'll just get you ready." She squirted jelly onto Sarah's stomach. "Sorry, probably a little cold. Right, let's have a look at you."

Sarah felt the now familiar anxiety of waiting to hear her babies' heartbeats, and smiled in relief as the familiar whirring sound came from the screen. She squeezed Jareth's hand, and watched him smile at the monitor. He was always so entranced by his babies, and it made her truly happy to see him like that.

"They're growing nicely, I'd say they're quite large for twins. I'd expect you to deliver around thirty five, maybe thirty six weeks, so you'll need to be prepared for that." The sonographer said. "The doctor will tell you more, but that's my estimate. Still a little boy and girl, no change there."

"Good." Sarah said happily. "Do they look alright?"

"They look fine to me, we'll run the standard tests to check your health, but as long as you're feeling alright I'd say there's nothing to worry about. Would you like me to print a picture?"

"You can do that?" Jareth asked; they had never been offered a copy of the scan before. The sonographer nodded. "Then yes, please."

They left the hospital fifteen mintues later; Sarah had been given a clean bill of health. There had been questions about her iron levels, but Jareth had produced a crystal that made them believe they were fine. Sarah tutted a little, but as he pointed out the fewer questions asked, the better.

"Can we stay in London for a little while?" Sarah asked. "I told your mother I wouldn't be seeing her today. I want to walk home with you, like we used to."

"I think that could be arranged." Jareth said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He would visit Juturna tomorrow, when he took Sarah to the High Court. There was no point in spoiling the good mood they were both in.

It was a sunny spring day, and Sarah felt all tension lift from her shoulders as she and Jareth walked home hand in hand. They passed over Westminster Bridge, where they had spent so many special moments together, and she smiled. Even if things weren't perfect, they were pretty damn good.

* * *

"Hello brother. How I've missed you." Juturna said, sitting on the floor in the sunless dungeon.

"Juturna. Still in chains I see." He remarked, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Surprisingly, they won't release me when I ask them to." Juturna said sarcastically. "Come to beg again Jareth? I do so enjoy your visits. I'm surprised you haven't tortured me with your crystals yet."

"I am forbidden by law and by Father to torture you." Jareth said, leaning against the wall and looking down at her. She really was pathetic like this. "It is not through any empathy of mine, let me assure you."

"You continue to waste your time and mine." She said, scratching at the dirt floor with her nails.

"Yes, because your time is _so_ valuable." He said wryly, watching her pick at dust and grime.

"Shouldn't you be with Sarah? I heard she made quite a scene the other night." Juturna remarked, as she crushed a beetle that ran along the floor with her foot.

"How did you hear that?" Jareth asked suspiciously. "I can't imagine you get many visitors."

"Guards gossip." Juturna said with a smile. "Really, I don't know why I bothered going to such lengths to get her pregnant. I wanted her to die after I took your children's magic, but I could have just waited until she ruined the whole thing herself. She'll make a terrible Queen, and your children will be useless to you. It's all worked out rather well, hasn't it?"

"She's ruined nothing. The wedding is going ahead, and the babies are healthy. Would you like to see them?" Jareth said, trying his best to keep a level head. He would not lower himself to hitting her again, and she got more and more frustrated when he acted like nothing bothered him.

"What are you talking about?" Juturna asked with a frown.

"Really Jut, for someone who spent so much time Above, you know nothing of their technology." Jareth took the picture from his pocket.

"What on Earth is that?" Juturna asked scathingly, squinting. "It looks like mortal television static."

"That is my children. Healthy, alive and thriving." Jareth told her proudly, and she laughed coldly.

"And powerless."

"Not forever." Jareth said firmly, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Have you found a way?" She asked politely, infuriatingly.

"Not yet. I will. Your incantations are so weak, the children will probably be able to undo them themselves, magic or no magic."

"Jareth, you and I know that Sarah is carrying in a human fashion. Six months, is she?" Juturna said, doing the maths. "If she was Fae, she would hardly be showing. From what the guards said, she was quite far along in her pregnancy."

"She could be carrying like a human because she was part human when she fell pregnant." Jareth said defiantly. "I didn't come here to argue biology, Jut."

"No, but it's fun to wind you up. It always has been. You're so very quick to rise to the bait." Juturna smiled, and Jareth rolled his eyes.

"And you are so very easy to lure into a false sense of security. We've set a date for your execution."

He watched her closely, and he saw her tremble slightly. There was no date, there couldn't possibly be one until the babies had been born. If he believed what she had told him, their life forces were entwined.

"When is it?" Juturna asked, looking down. She looked scared, and Jareth reveled in her fear.

"I won't tell you. The element of surprise is so fun, isn't it?" He mocked her, and she fixed him with a dark stare. She smiled at him slowly, narrowing her eyes.

"What's the use in executing me when your babes are still in the womb? Are you _trying_ to kill them? Have you realized just how weak having human children would make you look? Perhaps they aren't even yours. If Sarah opened her legs for you, I dread to think who else she's done the same for. Or, if they really _are_ yours, perhaps your powers are weakening and you can't even cast a simple contraception spell. Your essence is so weak that Sarah's humanity overpowered your Fae genes. Alaric was born half Fae, it is clear to see. Yours will have nothing to show for it, nothing to prove they are even yours. It would be such a pity if everyone realised your Queen was nothing but a power hungry little slut."

Jareth's hands clenched into fists, and he tried to steady his temper. She wanted a reaction, it was her ultimate goal to infuriate him to the point where he flat out murdered her.

"It's not going to work." Jareth told her firmly. "You can make whatever disgusting allegations you wish, but nothing will change the fact that you're going to die."

"I'm dead already." She said, and for a second Jareth looked at her properly. She was a mess; her hair matted and straggly, her body so thin that she looked like a skin covered skeleton. She was pathetic; broken.

"Why did you do it, Jut?" He asked, and he sat down on the floor beside her. She moved away from him, refusing to look at her. "I didn't want it to end like this. We're blood. Father always told us that blood is more important than anything."

"Where is Father? He hasn't seen me. I am not so important to him now."

"What do you expect? They are disgusted with your behaviour."

"Has he signed my death warrant?" Juturna asked warily, and Jareth shook his head.

"Not yet. But he will."

"Tell him to hurry up."

"Mother is devastated."

"Poor her." Juturna said witheringly.

"Do you not wish to know about your child?" Jareth asked, and he watched Juturna's icy demeanor falter for a second.

"How is he?" She asked quietly.

"Alive."

"I know he's alive." Juturna said impatiently. "Can I see him?"

"You think we'd allow you near him?" Jareth laughed coldly. "Mother is taking care of him for now, then he will return to Aelfric's brothers. He'll be King of your Kingdom. He had a throne waiting for him, why did you want mine?"

"I wanted yours because it was yours. If Alaric could have it, that was one thing. Then I realised I didn't want it for him at all. I wanted it for me."

"You wouldn't know what to do with it." Jareth spat, knowing that the Kingdom would crumble under Juturna's rule.

"And you do? You're barely even in the Underground, you're obsessed with living a human life. I would dedicate myself to that throne. You may find that more Fae support me than you'd think."

"Like who?" Jareth asked; he had never heard any whispers of Juturna having any support at all, and the thought of her having allies disturbed him. The Elves would not tolerate Fae interference, it was a thin ground he standing on as it was.

"Now now, that would be telling." Juturna said, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. "Are you finished? You can take your blurry photograph and return to your human. Perhaps she will let you touch her and try and make you feel like a man, though you are truly a weak excuse for one." She laughed hysterically.

Jareth turned around and left his embarrassment of a sister behind. He tried not to care about what she told him, knowing that she was so desperate she would come up with any lie to try and hurt him.

* * *

"So, Sarah. At the wedding, you will walk up the aisle alone. You do not have your father to give you away, so you must walk alone." Arethusa told her.

They were standing in an empty room in the High Palace, where the wedding would take place. The room itself was unavailable, so they were practicing in a spare one. Sarah supposed that was the good thing about being royalty; you never ran out of rooms.

"How long is the aisle?" Sarah asked with a frown.

"I do not know in terms you would understand. I suppose around double the length of this room?" She said lightly, looking around her.

Sarah squeaked in panic; the room they were in was vast.

"How many people will be there?" She asked weakly.

"Two, three thousand, I expect." Arethusa told her, waving a hand like it was no big deal.

"Right. Okay then." Sarah said weakly, trying to even picture that many people.

"So, you'll walk up the aisle. Jareth will be at the top, waiting for you of course."

"Who marries us?" Sarah asked. "I don't even know if there's religion here."

"No, that's a human concept, I believe. Jareth's father will marry you. It is usually the most senior male in a house that conducts the marriage ceremonies. It is your luck that the most senior male in our house is the most senior male in the Underground."

"Lucky me." Sarah said weakly.

"Come child, you must not be nervous. The time for humanity has passed; this is your opportunity to show everyone how strong you can be. You must expose no weakness, no fear." Arethusa's voice was more commanding than Sarah had ever heard it before, and she nodded in agreement.

"No fear. Got it." Sarah said shakily. "So then what happens?"

"You will be wearing a veil, which Jareth will lift."

"Okay." So far, so good.

"Then after some vows, in Fae of course, you will both cut your hands with the ceremonial knife and allow your blood to mingle with one another's." Arethusa said, a smile crossing her lips as she remembered her wedding day.

"What?!" Sarah asked in disgust. "Jareth didn't say anything about that."

"I'm sorry precious, I forgot." Jareth said, walking into the room. "I thought you two would be at the castle." He said, kissing his mother on the cheek and moving to do the same to Sarah. After he had kissed her, he stayed by her side, stroking her back mindlessly.

"I thought it more appropriate if I bring Sarah here for our lessons. Less prying eyes." Arethusa explained, smiling at her son's loving gesture to his fiancée. The atmosphere was much lighter, and it gave her joy to know they had made up after their argument.

"If you could inform me where she is, Mother, it would be most appreciated. How goes the lesson?"

"I'm just learning about the part where we become blood brothers." She said drolly. "What's next? Spit in our palms and shake?"

"Sarah, don't mock our customs." Jareth warned her. "It is not polite."

"Sorry." Sarah said sheepishly. "It's just a little unexpected."

"The cut will heal automatically." Jareth shrugged. "It won't hurt."

"It's still a little odd. Okay, so we slice our hands open and give each other our blood, what next?" Sarah asked cautiously, wondering what other steps she was expected to take to become Jareth's wife.

"Well, then there's the consummation in front of everyone, of course." Jareth said, looking at his nails nonchalantly. Sarah gasped.

"What?!" Her jaw dropped, and she looked at Arethusa in panic. She could see the High Queen biting her lip, trying not to laugh.

"Jareth, don't tease her. Of course there isn't dear, he's trying to scare you." Arethusa said kindly, glaring at her son. Really, this was difficult enough without him taunting her.

"Sorry darling, but the look on your face was priceless." Jareth laughed, and Sarah waited for him to finish. Unfortunately, he found himself so hilarious that his hysterics lasted longer than strictly necessary. She started to laugh despite herself; it was good to see him being silly with her again.

"Thanks." She scowled playfully, sticking her tongue out at him. "Seriously, what's next?"

"A long, boring ceremony that has nothing to do with us. A lecture about duty, family, whatever Father wishes to talk about. Keep him away from the ale, Mother. I'm trusting you to ensure my wedding isn't a slurred mess."

"I have a plan." Arethusa shrugged, a mischievous smile on her face. "Leave your father to me."

"So after that?" Sarah asked, wondering if there were any other strange rituals Jareth hadn't told her about.

"After that we have a big party, everyone gets incredibly drunk and wakes up next to somebody who isn't their spouse the next day. Present company excluded, of course."

"Jareth! Ignore him Sarah, it's not quite that debauched." Arethusa reassured her, and Jareth scoffed.

"Isn't it?" Jareth asked with a smile. "I seem to remember at one wedding seeing Lord Orthanta in a most compromising position in the corner with his-"

"Jareth!" Arethusa said in a warning tone of voice, getting increasingly irritated with her son's inability to take anything seriously. "Sarah is a lady, this isn't appropriate."

"She's familiar with the concept of lust, Mother. She is pregnant after all."

"Jareth! Shut up!" Sarah hissed at him, turning beetroot red. "Arethusa I am so sorry."

"It's quite alright Sarah, I've been putting up with his nonsense for almost sixteen hundred years. It's your turn now." Arethusa smiled fondly, reaching a hand out and ruffling Jareth's hair, just as she did when he was a boy. He grumbled, fussing with it until it sat just right again.

"Aren't I the luckiest woman in the world?" Sarah smiled, and Jareth joined their hands together as they stood side by side.

"It does me good to see my son so happy." Arethusa's face darkened as she focused her gaze on her son. "You've seen Juturna, haven't you Jareth?"

"Just now. How did you know?"

"I can always tell." Arethusa shrugged.

"Did she say anything new?" Sarah asked anxiously, and Jareth shook his head.

"She tried to imply several disgusting things about you. She also told me she has Fae allies who support her claim to the throne. We must make sure nobody visits her, Mother. Under any circumstances." Jareth told his mother darkly, and she frowned.

"I don't believe she's had any visitors at all, save for you. I can't bring myself to see her, certainly."

"I wouldn't. She's not a pretty sight. Anyway, there's something rather more pleasant that I wanted to show you Mother." He reached into his trouser pocket and took the picture of the ultrasound out. He handed it to her, and she squinted at it in confusion.

"What is this?" She was turning the square of paper upside down to try and make out what in heavens he was trying to show her.

"It's a picture of the babies." Sarah explained, moving to stand next to her and turning the picture the right way up. "See, that's the boy at the front, the girl at the back. It's a still of the scan of my womb we had done yesterday."

"Gosh." Arethusa said, blinking in awe. "Humans certainly do have some rather marvelous inventions. Imagine being able to see babes in the womb. This is wonderful. And they're healthy?"

"Very healthy. They're big, the doctors are expecting me to give birth a few weeks early. There's still time to go yet though, and we have this wedding to get out of the way first."

"Did you change the wedding date like I requested, Mother?" Jareth asked, watching his mother look rather sheepish.

"Why?" She asked innocently, and Jareth narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Sarah watched the two of them with a smile; Arethusa really could be devious when she wanted to be.

"I wish to move it back to the original date." Jareth admitted, and Sarah beamed at him. There would be enough time to perfect her etiquette for the wedding, the rest could come after. She just didn't want to be enormous and even more uncomfortable than she already was on her wedding day.

"I have a confession to make. I never changed the arrangements. I knew things would settle down." Arethusa admitted, and Jareth muttered under his breath that he knew she wouldn't have changed it.

"So it's in two weeks?" Sarah asked happily.

"Two weeks." Arethusa nodded. "So we had better focus on your lessons!"

* * *

Later that night, they sat in bed in complete silence, reading. Jareth was reading a history of Fae-Human relations, searching for some hidden explanation for Sarah's human pregnancy other than Juturna's interference. There was nothing, and he slammed the book down in irritation.

"Calm down." Sarah told him, not looking up from her reading. "It'll all work out."

"What are you reading?" Jareth asked, fidgeting. Sarah glanced up at him; he was like a child, he got bored so quickly.

"A history of your line. It's quite interesting. You're in here, I assume?"

"At the back, I suppose. You'll be in there too soon enough. And them." He rubbed her belly through the blankets.

"Let's hope so." Sarah said, flicking the page over. "Did your Great Grandfather really declare war on a puddle?"

"What's his nickname in there?" Jareth asked, pulling her to him.

"Hirthal the Insane." She said, and she realised they were talking in Fae and she hadn't even noticed.

"Then yes, he did declare war on a puddle. Why are you reading such a boring book?"

"I need to know your history - if I'm to be Queen, I need to know every detail of those that have come before me." She said determinedly. "I need to know the history of the Underground too. That's tomorrow night's book."

"I suppose that makes sense." Jareth said indifferently, moving closer to her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, nipping the delicate skin. She tried to ignore him, but that just made him more tenacious.

"Jareth, don't distract me. I'm trying to get on top of things." She told him firmly as his teeth caught her earlobe. He was never subtle about when he wanted her, teasing her relentlessly until she was dizzy with desire.

"So am I." Jareth said lightly in between kisses, his hand snaking down her nightdress. Sarah laughed breathlessly.

"That's the worst joke you've ever made." She told him sincerely, and he looked up at her, his teeth bared in a predatory smile.

"Did it work though?" He asked innocently, his fingers dancing over delicate skin. She slammed her book shut and tossed aside, shuffling down the bed so she was lying down and pulling him onto her.

"Absolutely."

* * *

 **A/N: A little fluffy scene there to say thanks to you all for sticking with me through the arguing! Please review!**


	33. A King And His Queen

The night before their wedding, Sarah and Jareth were in bed at the High Palace. Guests had been arriving for the past day, and the couple had kept out of the way. Jareth had done some cursory greeting, but it was not expected for the bride and groom to be seen before the wedding. Sarah had kept herself hidden, still doing some panicked last minute studying. She doubted very much that any guests would care whether or not she could name every King of the Underground since the dawn of time, but if the need arose, she could.

It had been agreed that Sarah's coronation could be incorporated into the ceremony; although it was tradition to have them separately, her pregnancy was progressing so quickly that in the months it would take to arrange the ceremony the twins would likely be born. It was vital that she was crowned before their birth to assure their royal status.

They were allowed to share a bedchamber; there was no pretending Sarah was a virgin, and it didn't really matter. The morals of the Fae confused her; they appeared to be so Medieval, yet they had the loose sexual standards of the 1960s. She was adjusting to it, but she knew that she would never partake in their penchant for multiple lovers. Jareth was all she wanted, and she was all he wanted.

"Are you nervous?" Jareth asked, playing with a lock of her hair. Sarah shook her head, her long hair swishing over his bare chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Good."

"I'm excited. I've been working so hard, I just want a chance to show everyone that I can do this. I'm going to be your wife." She said, hardly daring to believe that they were almost there. After all the diversions and worries, things were finally running smoothly. It was the calm before the storm of the birth of their children, and Sarah was enjoying it while she could.

"You already _are_ my wife darling. In every way that matters." Jareth told her sincerely, and his fingers twisted her wedding ring round gently. She smiled, tracing her fingertips over the gold band he wore.

"But tomorrow it will be real, everyone will have to acknowledge it." Sarah sighed; there had been no more visits from nosy Fae, but she was still aware that acceptance would not be so easy to come by.

"Who cares about everyone?" Jareth said lightly. "I only care about you."

"And your people." She said wryly, and he waved a dismissive hand.

"Yes, yes. Them too."

"So what are you wearing tomorrow? I haven't even asked you." Sarah had been so busy trying to perfect her etiquette and knowledge of the Fae that the wedding plans had been left entirely in the hands of Jareth and his mother.

"Something purple and glittery. I really do look quite handsome in it, you're going to swoon." He drawled, his eyebrow quirked playfully. He grinned at her, and she smiled back. He really was truly beautiful, imperfect yet perfect to her.

"I'm sure you do. I'm so lucky to be marrying such a modest and humble King." She joked, and Jareth puffed up proudly.

"Honesty is an excellent quality too. Modesty is overrated." He told her sincerely; really, he was rather modest, she thought. He was incredibly powerful, but never really mentioned it; it was always others who told her of his gifts with magic.

"Hmm. I wonder if our son will be as flamboyant as his father." She said, imagining a baby wearing a feathered cape.

"One can only hope." Jareth stroked her stomach fondly. "You're getting bigger."

"You're telling me." Sarah sighed. "I haven't seen my toes for days."

"They're lovely." Jareth said, reaching down to tickle her feet. She laughed, kicking him off her.

"Thanks for the update." She giggled, rubbing at her stomach. "I'm getting so huge. Do you still love me? I'm a puffy hormonal mess."

"Nonsense. You're radiant, darling. Pregnancy truly suits you. And as for loving you, nothing could ever stop me. I seem to desire you more than ever, surely you've noticed?"

"Um, yeah. I've noticed." She smiled, thinking of how he could hardly keep his hands off her. He was insatiable, and they seemed to spend every spare moment of the day entwined with one another. "It feels weird that we're getting married tomorrow and we're allowed to see each other."

"Well, ours is not the usual situation. If you were Fae, it would be likely that we would never even meet before the wedding day, unless I knew you beforehand. Possibly we would have slept together, but perhaps not. There's no strict protocol, it varies couple to couple."

"Is sex all you think about?" She asked incredulously.

"I think about clothes, too." Jareth shrugged, and Sarah roared with laughter. He smiled happily at her, loving nothing better than seeing her laugh. "And you, of course. My wonderful wife."

"I love you." She told him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He held her there, kissing her tenderly for several minutes. When he pulled away, she smiled at him, feeling dazed. His touch always stunned her, knocking her senseless. The overpowering lust she felt towards him hadn't lessened in the year they had been together, and she hoped that it never would.

"I love you." He went to kiss her again, and she pushed him away by his chest. He moaned in disappointment, and she looked at him sternly.

"We should probably go to sleep." Sarah said, not unreasonably. "I have to go get dressed at a crazy hour of the morning. You'll go and get Hoggle and the others right?"

"Yes, yes. They'll be there, don't worry. Sarah, you must understand that they might not fit in." Jareth warned her; there would be plenty of non-Fae at the wedding, but Hoggle and Ludo were hardly inconspicuous.

"I know." Sarah said sadly. "But we can take them home if they're uncomfortable. I just want them there. I feel awful for neglecting them, I've had no time at all to see them."

"They won't dare say anything. After all, tomorrow you will be their Queen." Jareth said, stealing a kiss.

"Queen Sarah." She said, milling the name around her mouth. "Queen Sarah. It sounds so strange."

"Really? I think it sounds wonderful."

* * *

"Can you loosen it a little?" Sarah gasped. The corset had been pulled so tightly she could hardly breathe, and her stomach felt as though it was being crushed. She thought anxiously of her babies being squashed in side of her.

"Nonsense." An elderly lady in waiting shrugged. "It looks fine. It flattens out your shape, the dress will hang better."

"It's not good for the babies to be so compressed." Sarah said firmly. The room was full of women fussing over her; she was standing in front of a mirror wearing only underwear, including the corset that was causing all the problems.

"Fae babies can withstand anything. Their magic protects them." The woman said flippantly, as if talking to a simpleton, and Sarah bit her tongue. She couldn't exactly broadcast the fact that her children had no magic of their own.

"I would really rather it was looser." Sarah pressed again, her voice sounding weak even to her own ears. Nobody was listening to her. She felt anger flare inside her, and she lost her patience. "Loosen it now!"

Her voice was harder than she had ever heard it, and she reminded herself of Jareth for a moment.

"Yes, m'Lady." The woman said, looking down at her feet. The strings were hastily untied and relaced, and Sarah could breathe again.

"Thank you. I do not wish to repeat myself over and over." She said, trying to copy the tone of voice Jareth used when commanding people. "Could you bring my dress now?"

"As you wish." With a wave of the woman's hand, the dress appeared. Although they could all dress using magic, it was usual that important outfits were put on by hand. There was no particular reason for this, except that it allowed more attention to detail.

The gown was made of two parts; the top, with it's beautiful embroidered bodice and gold threaded sleeves was put on her first, and laced again (Sarah noticed it was almost a little slack, the women tied it so loosely), then the voluminous skirt. The purple silk was so fine, and the colour so rich that it almost looked black in some lights. It was truly a work of art, and Sarah had never expected to wear a dress this fine.

"You look lovely, Lady Sarah." A young Fae said, looking at her in awe. The elder women in the room looked at the young girl crossly, though Sarah didn't notice.

"Thank you." Sarah said vaguely, unable to take her eyes off her own reflection. She was getting married, she would be a Queen. The coronation would come later, but to all intents and purposes she would be Jareth's Queen as soon as their final vows had been spoken.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked; she hoped it wasn't Jareth. She wanted him to see her for the first time as she walked up the aisle, not standing in a room surrounded by nosy old ladies.

"Arethusa."

The women in the room all dropped to their knees as the High Queen entered, and Sarah curtsied deeply.

"Rise, child. Please, leave Sarah and I alone." Arethusa said, and the women all vanished. "You look wonderful, darling girl. Truly like a Fae."

"I've been trying." Sarah admitted. "Your lessons have been a great help to me."

"I've had a great pupil." Arethusa smiled. "I am honoured to have you as my daughter, Sarah. You will be a wonderful part of our family, and a true asset to the throne. One day, you will stand in my place. I couldn't think of anyone better to follow me."

"Not for a long time." Sarah said firmly. "You're not going anywhere."

"No, not yet. I've got my grandchildren to meet first."

* * *

"Hello Heggle." Jareth appeared in Hoggle's garden, where Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus were waiting for him. He walked over to observe the fairies, who immediately tried to bite him. He slapped one down firmly, and the rest flew away.

"Hoggle." Hoggle told him, watching as he dealt with the little pests. Jareth didn't turn around, merely shrugging at his mistake.

"Of course. Are you ready?" Jareth asked irritably, wanting to get back to the High Palace quickly. Hoggle shook his head, his fat little arms crossed in defiance.

"We aints coming." Hoggle told him firmly, and Jareth turned to face him angrily.

"What?" He asked, annoyed Hoggle was wasting his time.

"We know Sarah only invited us for politeness. You don't wants us there." Hoggle told him, looking down at his feet. Jareth sighed, irritated at Hoggle's attitude.

"Sarah invited you because she truly needs you there. She doesn't have many friends here, and you three are her dearest friends in the world, Above or Underground. For some reason. Now, it is my wedding day and I'd really rather not waste time bargaining with a dwarf and whatever you other two are. Are you coming or not?"

"You believe she really wishes us to be there, Your Highness?" Didymus asked tentatively, and Ludo growled questioningly.

"Yes, I do. Now, I have much to do. Are you coming or not?" Jareth asked them, crossing his arms. The three looked at each other, and the hairy creature spoke first.

"Ludo come."

"Marvelous." Jareth sighed in relief; if they weren't there, Sarah would blame him. "And the rest of you?"

"Fine. We'll comes, but I'm leavin' as soon as you twos married. I ain't stickin' around with all those Fae there." Hoggle told him, and Jareth nodded in agreement to his terms.

"Fine, I'll bring you all back after the ceremony. Now will you all hurry up?"

* * *

"Are you ready dear?" Arethusa asked, helping Sarah to fix her veil. It was different to Above veils; it wasn't light and lacy. It was a thick, dark material that had been passed down generations of royal brides. Arethusa herself had worn this veil, as had five other Queens. It was embroidered with Jareth's family's crest, and had a thin layer of material to see through.

"I feel like I'm wearing a curtain." Sarah said, her voice muffled by the thick material.

"I know dear, I remember that feeling well. Just watch your feet, don't trip."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Sarah said, trying to fix her hair under the veil. "Everyone will be watching me."

"Yes." Arethusa agreed, not bothering to try and lie about it. "But Jareth is the only one who matters. He is a truly lucky man to have you as his bride, dear. I couldn't possibly think of a better match for my son."

She held Sarah's hands in hers, and though she couldn't see Sarah's face, she looked at her in the eyes.

"Now, Jareth will tell you your vows, and you merely agree to them. You mustn't hear them before the wedding, the woman must always hear them for the first time in the presence of her intended. It would ruin the binding magic."

"Alright." Sarah said, wondering what they would entail. She would agree to nearly anything, knowing that they had their own understanding that words couldn't define.

"Right my dear. I believe your fiancé will be waiting for you. Are you ready?"

Sarah took a deep, slightly shaky breath. She smiled beneath the veil, and nodded her head.

"I'm ready."

She and Arethusa vanished, appearing at the doors of the High Hall. Sarah had finally seen the room the day before; it was an enormous room, with ceilings so high Sarah had to squint to see the carvings on them. It was a vast space, and the aisle looked to be around half a mile long. The walk to Jareth would feel long and lonely, and Sarah tried to focus on the fact the man she loved would be standing waiting for her.

"I'll leave you here, dear. The next time I see you, you shall be my daughter."

"Thank you for everything, Your Majesty." Sarah told her, feeling truly grateful for the support Arethusa had offered her.

"You are truly welcome my dear. You are an extrodinary young woman, in posession of more power than magic could ever give you. Never change who you are, Sarah. Not for Jareth, not for the Fae. Embrace who you are, darling girl."

Sarah felt tears prick her eyes at Arethusa's kind words and she nodded tearfully.

"Thank you." She whispered, her voice feeling weak. "I appreciate that."

"Now, let's get you married. The guards will open the doors when the music begins, then you must walk. Yes?"

"Yes. Thanks."

With one last pat to Sarah's arm, Arethusa vanished. Sarah steadied her breathing, and stood in front of the doors. She heard the muffled sound of music begin to play, a soft, ethereal flute chorus. She prepared herself, and the heavy wooden doors swung open.

She stepped through the doors, trying not to focus on the thousands of people all around here. They were seated in tiers, meaning that there were thousands of eyes peering down at her. She looked straight ahead, and at the end of the seemingly endless aisle, she could see Jareth and his father. Jareth's back was to her, and she willed him to turn around.

The music swelled, and Sarah felt hypnotized by the gentle melody. She walked slowly, as she had been instructed by Arethusa. Every eye was on her, though they couldn't see much of her face beath the veil. She walked with purpose, determined not to let her nerves betray her. She was Fae now, she was walking to her destiny, and she would show no fear.

Around half way up the aisle, Jareth finally turned to face her. He was indeed wearing something purple and glittery; a dark cape glinted in the dim candlelight, his trousers almost indecently tight. He was wearing a crown, and it was the first time Sarah had seen him wear one. He looked truly regal, and she was struck by how different he looked just because he was wearing a gold hat.

He didn't smile at her, but that didn't surprise her. He was being scruitnized too, and he wanted to appear indifferent and aloof. As she finally reached him, she could see through the thick material that even if he wasn't smiling, his eyes were. Standing beside him, he lifted her veil and allowed it to fall to the floor behind her. When her face was revealed, he smiled in awe.

They both turned to face the High King, who began to speak.

"We are here today to witness the marriage of Jareth, of the house Danu, King of the Goblins and heir to the High Throne, to Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth."

There was an audible murmur at this; Jareth had demanded this title's inclusion, no longer ashamed of Sarah's victory. It was important to establish Sarah's connection to the Underground and to tell everyone that she was no ordinary girl, that she possessed the ability to defeat the most challenging trap that existed.

"Jareth, you will now make your vows to Sarah."

"Sarah Williams, I offer you my hand in marriage. You shall be my wife, recognised by all Underground to be under my protection. I vow to always be your shelter, and to offer you my support. You and our children shall be under my rule from this day to the end of our days, sharing my wealth, my power and my lands."

The words were hardly romantic, but Sarah listened as he pledged himself to her. They had made their romantic vows to one another already, and these were truly important.

"Now Jareth, you will pose Sarah's vows to her."

Jareth shifted uncomfortably, and there was a pause. Sarah looked at him questioningly. He mouthed "I'm sorry", and began to speak.

"Sarah Williams, do you vow to accept me as your husband and King? Do you vow to bend to my will, pledging yourself and any children our union may produce to obey me?" These words were not surprising to Sarah; she knew it was vital that she appeared submissive to him.

"I do."

Jareth took a deep breath, and Sarah watched him curiously.

"Fear me, love me, and I will be your slave. You must vow to always fear me, as your husband and as your King."

The familiar words struck her, and she looked at him in amazement. These words were part of the marriage vows that royal protocol demanded. She said nothing, and Jareth moved his head questioningly at her. He coughed lightly, but she still stayed silent, her mind racing to try and decide what to say in response to his demand.

"Sarah." He said firmly, the silence getting a little embarassing now. "Sarah, do you vow to fear me?"

"No." She said eventually, and Jareth went grey. He looked at her furiously, demanding an explanation.

"I will not fear you." She said firmly, willing her voice to stay strong. She was taking a huge risk denying him in such a way. "You will be my husband, and I will not fear you. To fear you would be to disrespect you. I would never disrespect you in such a way. I vow to stand by you through anything, to never take another man to my bed, to always respect you as my King. But I will never fear you."

Jareth stared at her incredulously; these vows were part of the ancient ceremony, and she had completely changed them. It would still stand legally, but he did wonder how others would percieve the fact that Sarah had taken it upon herself to defy him. Then he realised - he didn't care what other people thought. These vows had been so tender, so heartfelt that to be angry with her would be to betray the sincerity of her vows. This was the woman he wanted to marry, and her vows were perfect; they truly reflected the woman she was, and the fearless Queen she would be.

"Is that okay?" Sarah asked nervously. "I can't vow to fear you, Jareth. To do so would be a complete betrayl of the trust and faith I have in you."

She saw him soften at that, and he shot a questioning glance to his father.

"Quite a declaration." Hefeyd said, almost laughing. "Jareth, do you accept Sarah's terms?"

"Oh yes. Sarah, do you vow to be my wife?" Jareth pressed her, and she smiled.

"I do."

"And now, you shall both perform the ancient rite of blood magic." A jewel encrusted knife appeared in the High King's hand, and he passed it to his son. "Jareth, take the blade and slice your palm. Sarah, you will do the same. Then, as the blood wells in your hand, you will clasp hands and allow your magic to flow through you. You will both repeat the sacred words after me."

Sarah watched as Jareth drew the sharp edge over his hand, and he handed it to her. She inhaled sharply as she cut into her hand, watching dark red blood bubble to the surface. Jareth took her hand firmly, and shut his eyes. She did the same, allowing her magic to flow freely, feeling Jareth's own power entering her body.

"I pledge my very essence to you, my blood shall run within your veins." Hefeyd said, his voice loud and imposing. Jareth and Sarah echoed him, their voices together as one.

"I pledge my very essence to you, my blood shall run within your veins."

"Our bond shall never be broken, our union never severed."

"Our bond shall never be broken, our union never severed."

"Let no man try to desperate us, let no man question our bond."

"Let no man try to separate us, let no man question our bond."

"We are one, never to be parted."

"We are one never to be parted."

"You may now kiss your wife."

Jareth pulled his hand away from hers, and with a look of fierce intensity, he pulled her to him. She had been told to expect a courteous peck on the mouth, and squeaked in surprise as Jareth kissed her with such passion she thought she might melt into a puddle. His tongue met hers, and she wrapped her arms around him. This was a deceleration in itself; they would never fear each other, never have contempt for one another.

Eventually he pulled away, and Sarah stood in a daze. Jareth leaned into her, and whispered softly.

"I'm sorry, I got a little carried away."

* * *

Several hours later, the ceremony finally concluded. Sarah had been named Queen of the Goblin Kingdom, crowned with a delicate gold tiara. Jareth had watched as the High King lowered the crown onto her head, beaming with pride. He no longer cared that the Fae knew he had feelings; now was the time to stand up for what he believed in. Really, by caring what they thought he was appearing to be weaker than any display of love would make him.

They stood greeting the most important dignitaries; it would be impossible to see everyone, but there was still a seemingly never ending stream of Fae and other diplomats to greet. Each one looked at Sarah with a strange kind of respect; this woman was truly remarkable, determined in her own skin yet still completely devoted to her husband.

When they were alone, Jareth took her into a room and held her tightly.

"You took a risk there, precious." She had thought he might be angry, but if anything he looked as though he was beaming with pride.

"I know. It's like it wasn't even me speaking."

"I suppose you know what those words mean now."

"You wanted to marry me." Sarah said quietly. "All those years ago. Those were marriage vows you were saying before I left, weren't they?"

"Yes." He admitted, stroking her hair softly. "I wanted you to be my wife, but I didn't know how to ask. Tricking you seemed like the only option, how could someone so wonderful ever consent to be mine?"

"But I do consent. I was a kid, Jareth. It was wrong of you to ask me that." She told him sternly, and he looked down in shame.

"I know." She lifted his chin so he faced her, and smiled.

"I'm not a kid now. But I still won't fear you."

"You've made that quite clear, precious thing. My Queen. I can't believe it."

"Me neither." Sarah said, chuckling. There was a sharp kick to her stomach, and she winced. "Neither can they, from the feel of things."

"I never thought I'd marry or have a family. Here I stand with my pregnant wife. That truly is magic."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Please review!  
**


	34. Bed Rest

Jareth hadn't been lying; the Fae really could party. It was hours after the ceremony, dawn breaking and flooding the candle lit hall with natural daylight. The dancing and drinking was still going strong. Sarah was feeling rather tired, her feet swollen and her back aching, and had watched the majority of the festivities from the top table. Jareth had danced a little, and she had enjoyed watching him. Hefeyd was drunker than anyone, and was currently in a corner chatting up a rather buxom Elf. Jareth tore himself away from the dancing, and sat next to his wife.

"Can we go home now?" Sarah whispered into his ear. "I'm so tired. The babies are kicking like crazy and my back's agony."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jareth asked her in concern. "Are you using your magic properly? You shouldn't be in pain."

"I'm too tired. Now take me home, please." She moaned, pulling at his jacket needily, and Jareth laughed.

"You're a demanding little thing aren't you?" He asked sarcastically, caressing her back to try and ease the pain. She tossed her head back in pleasure, stretching like a satisfied cat.

"Yes, and you married me." She drawled, and he pressed a kiss to her exposed neck. Everyone else in the room was so drunk and lust filled that their displays of affection looked tame in comparison.

"Is it too late to back out?" He jested, twirling a piece of her hair round his finger. His hands were gloved, as they always were in public. She wanted to see his hands properly, to see the human wedding band that rested on his ring finger.

"Unfortunately." She said earnestly, kissing him. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me for life now."

"Damn." He said against her mouth, kissing her passionately. She felt a woosh of air pass by her, and squealed as they landed on their bed back in the Goblin City.

"We should have said goodbye! It seems rude to just leave and vanish into thin air!" She protested, and Jareth shrugged indifferently.

"No one cares about us." He said, flipping her over and unlacing her bodice quickly. "I, however, care about you."

"You care about getting me naked." She laughed into the pillow.

"That too." He said sincerely, peeling her sleeves off her and tossing the bodice aside. "You look so beautiful naked, what's the use of clothes?"

"Thanks, I think. Careful with the corset, they did it kind of tight. I had to do my best you impression to get them to loosen it, but I'm not so sure it worked."

Jareth inhaled sharply as he removed her corset, seeing red welts against Sarah's alabaster skin.

"Sarah, it's not good for the children to wear tight clothes like that." He chastised her, and she felt her defenses rise.

"I know that! It wasn't my choice and I tried to get them to take it off me but I had to wear it. I've been using my magic all day to try and protect them, I'm not sure I knew what I was doing though, it probably did nothing." She said, feeling annoyed that she even wore the damn thing in the first place.

"You clearly didn't protect your back. You look like you've been whipped." Jareth said, running his fingers over her back trying to heal the angry red marks.

"I can't feel anything." She shrugged, looking over her shoulder at him frowning at her back. "It looks that bad? And it's not even because you got your way with trying out the riding crop."

"Oh, are you interested in the crop now?" He asked seductively, grinning devilishly, pulling down her skirts gently.

"I'm interested in you." She flipped herself over underneath him, and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him on top of her.

"Aren't you tired?" He asked her in concern, and she shook her head.

"Not too tired for you. Husband." She said, being able to call him that and knowing that they were now husband and wife in every possible place making her happier than she thought possible.

"Say it again." He growled into her neck, biting her gently. He clearly felt the same.

"Make love to me, husband." She laughed, and she felt his clothes magically disappear.

"As you wish, my Queen."

* * *

Sarah slept all day, exhausted from the previous day's festivities. Jareth watched over her for a while, concerned she had over exerted herself. He rested his hands on her stomach, letting his magic flow. He had hoped doing so would give the babies a little boost of magic, but there was no sign of it so far. He had taken to doing it whilst Sarah slept, knowing how much talking about the babies' mortality upset her.

"I know what you're doing." She mumbled, shifting in the bed. He yanked his hands away guiltily, and she opened her eyes. "Don't stop. It's fine, but you really should have talked to me about it."

He replaced his hands on her stomach and resumed what he was doing.

"I know I should have. I just didn't want to upset you." He said softly, watching as Sarah closed her eyes and smiled. It felt relaxing, and she needed all the help she could get to relax a little.

"I've been doing the same." Sarah admitted. "It won't be too much for them will it?"

"No, I don't think so. I have to go, some Elvish diplomats have requested a meeting." Jareth told her, not moving.

"The day after your wedding? Do we not get a honeymoon?" Sarah asked, pouting her lips.

"Sadly not, precious. I'll try not to be too long, but I want you to stay in bed. I know you can't really see them, but your ankles are looking a little swollen. The midwife my mother contacted has finally gotten back to her, she should be coming to visit today or tomorrow."

"That's good." Sarah yawned. "I'm hungry."

"I'll have the goblins bring you something. I really must dash." He kissed her gently, prying his hands away from her stomach. "I mean it, stay in bed."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"You're Your Highness too now, you know."

"I am, aren't I? It sounds so strange." Sarah said, the title sounding foreign to her ears.

"You have a lifetime to get used to it, precious." He told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She pulled him down slightly and caught his lips.

"You better go, before the Elves get mad." Sarah leant back and closed her eyes again, and fell asleep with in seconds. Jareth kissed her forehead fondly, and left.

* * *

"Why are you stalling? She must die! It has been months now, we are waiting!"

"And she _will_ die, but not yet. I've made it quite clear that the nature of Juturna's magical crimes mean she cannot be executed until it is certain that each enchantment has been undone."

"So? Undo them. You're supposedly powerful, why can't you do it?" Aelfric's brother Alre demanded. Usually they sent diplomats, but today Jareth was in the presence of one of several Elvish Kings, a group of brothers who ruled Elvish lands. Aelfric was the least powerful of them all, but they still took their brother's murder extremely seriously.

"There is no 'supposedly' about it." Jareth said smoothly. "Unfortunately, Juturna used Elvish herbs in addition to magic. I will not go into the nature of her crimes against me, but if you continue to question my motives, there will be serious problems between us. I am anxious to maintain our poltical alliance, and I assure you Juturna will be dealt with with no mercy. I have no control over my sister, and what she did to your brother and his son is abominable, and she will be punished. However, the High King has allowed my judgement on this matter, and to question me is to question him."

"We are not questioning him, we are merely wondering whether your attachment to your sister is clouding your judgement." Alre said, eyeing the Goblin King carefully.

"Attachment?!" Jareth laughed coldly. "Have you met my sister? I feel no more a bond with her than I do with this table. I have told you more than once, once my children are born and named, the execution will take place."

"Why does it matter about your children?" Alre pressed, and Jareth shook his head. He would not be drawn to discuss this. "You seem to be insistent on their birth first, and it makes no sense to us. We believe you are stalling for time."

"I will only say that she has done something to my wife in an attempt to damage her health and fertility, and we must wait until the babes are born. If anything is attempted before this, it could result in the death of my wife the Queen and our royal heirs. You are to tell your brothers this."

"Fine. We will wait, but once their well being is established, there will be no more dallying around Jareth. She will be executed, and you will give her head to us." Alre said firmly, and Jareth shrugged; the image of holding Juturna's head didn't even turn his stomach.

"Agreed. I want her dead as much as you."

* * *

Jareth returned to Sarah after a few hours of paperwork, and was irritated to find the bed empty.

"Sarah!" He called out, and was relieved to hear her voice magically come back to him.

"Jesus Jareth, I'm in the bathroom. Can't a woman pee without being yelled at?" She said irritably, her voice echoing around him.

"Sorry precious." He laughed, and sat on the bed waiting for her to come back. He removed his gloves and rubbed at his temples, trying to heal the headache that had formed there.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, appearing back in the room. She was still wearing her nightdress, and walked over to him. "Do you want me to heal your headache?"

"No. Save your magic, precious." He told her, pulling her down to sit beside him. "Let me see your ankles."

"Really, I'm feeling better now." Despite her protestations, he lifted her leg and placed it across his lap. Her ankles were still swollen, and he could hardly see the bone.

"Maybe we should take you above and see your midwife there." Jareth wondered out loud.

"I don't have one yet, not for a few more weeks. Look, it's fine. I'm pregnant, pregnant women get puffy ankles. Will you calm down?!"

"I'm sorry love. I just worry, you know that." He said, rubbing at her ankles with magic infused fingers. "If you're sure you're alright, we can just wait for mother's midwife to come."

"Yeah, let's do that. Your mom sent me a summons for tomorrow, so we won't have long to wait. What are you doing for the rest of the day?" She asked, tracing her fingers along his arm.

"Nothing. I've finished for the day." Jareth said, and he lowered his head to kiss her neck. She pushed him away; there was too much to do to get distracted.

"Great. You can help me read through these. I had the goblins bring me them from the library." Sarah gestured to her bedside table, and Jareth saw a stack of at least twenty enormous books. "Everything I could find on pregnancy, Elvish herbs and dark magic. There's got to be something in one of them."

"I've read through them all." Jareth said dismissively,trying to kiss her neck again and Sarah shook her head.

"Not these ones, I checked. Now, let's get going and give our babies their magic back."

* * *

"Sarah, how wonderful to see you. This is Marged, she will be your midwife. She is aware of the delicate situation and is quite confident she will be able to handle it."

"I've delivered more babies than you could imagine. I delivered your husband and his sister, Your Highness, as well as Her Majesty Queen Arethusa herself."

"You did?" Sarah asked, wondering just how old this woman was. "That's amazing."

"It's my calling in life. Now, let's have a look at you. Arethusa, do you have a room with a bed we could use?"

"Of course." Arethusa said, and with a wave of her hand they were all in the room Jareth and Sarah had slept in the night before their wedding. "Will this do?"

"Wonderful. Sarah, if you would lie down."

"I'll leave you two alone." Arethusa told them, vanishing instantly.

"Now, how far along are you?"

"The human doctors say that I'm twenty six weeks along. Human pregnancies last around forty weeks, but twins come earlier." Sarah said, feeling a bit hesitant that she was the one giving the midwife a rather shaky lesson in biology.

"How odd." Magred said with a frown. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing that I won't be able to deal with."

"I'll have to have the babies Above." Sarah told her. "Arethusa must have told you that they won't have magic."

"Yes, she did. I'm sorry dear. I'm sure it'll all sort itself out in the wash."

"Uh, yeah." Sarah said, not really sure what the old woman was talking about. "But they won't be able to survive here without it. So I'm here for a while but I'll be going Above to see my own doctor too. Jareth wanted me to see you too though, just to get a magical perspective on things. The doctors Above keep trying to give me iron."

"Well for pity's sake don't let them!" Magred said in horror. "Now, I'm just going to have a feel of your tummy."

Sarah lifted her top up tentatively, jumping a little as Magred's cold hands began to prod her bump. She winced as she hit a delicate spot just above her hip.

"Is that sore?" Magred asked her, eyeing Sarah carefully.

"A little." Sarah shrugged, dismissing it as the usual aches she got. After all, her stomach was expanding; a little pain was to be expected.

"Nothing unusual, you are expanding after all. Your bump is rather large, but I suppose that's normal."

"Yeah. If the babies are human, they would be able to survive if they were born now. Well, they'd need a hell of a lot of medical care but they wouldn't die straight away. So that's why I'm big, I guess. Everyone carries differently right?" Sarah asked - she had been told this by mortal doctors more than once.

"Yes, of course they do. When are they expected to be born?"

"Around thirty five weeks if all goes to plan." Sarah said, hardly able to believe that in nine weeks she could be holding her babies in her arms.

"If they are early, what kind of medical care would they recieve?"

"Incubators, which are like little cribs that keep them warm and lets them get stronger without germs and stuff from the outside." Sarah told her, trying to explain something she didn't really understand herself.

"We can do that with magic."

"But they'll be mortal, it will be damaging to them to be exposed to magic like that won't it?"

"Exposure to magic will help them, I am certain of it."

"I don't know, I'd have to talk to Jareth. Hopefully they won't need any kind of help at all." Sarah said wistfully. "Does everything feel okay?"

"Yes, as expected. Have you had any sickness?"

"Not for a few weeks."

"I see your ankles are swollen. Can you not use your magic to bring them down?"

"You sound like Jareth." Sarah groaned. "I'm trying not to use too much magic on things like that, I want to make sure the babies have all of my power focused on them. My ankles are fine."

"Well, we'll keep an eye on you." She waved a hand and a wooden instrument Sarah recognized as a device designed to listen to the babies' heartbeat appeared in the old lady's hand. She pressed the round end against Sarah's stomach and listened for a moment, moving it periodically. "Two strong heartbeats. Everything seems healthy."

"It is, it's all fine." Sarah said; the scan hadn't been all that long ago and nothing felt different. "I'm going to keep having my Above checkups, but I'm sure everything will work itself out.

"Yes, I'm quite sure. Well, everything is quite normal. Congratulations, Your Highness. I must leave, I have much to do." The old woman gave a quick curtsy, and Sarah almost told her to stop before she realised that she was a Queen now.

"Well, thank you for your help." Sarah said, yanking her top down. She wasn't sure quite how she felt about this woman. "I'll call on you again if I need you."

"I have a potion for you to drink that should ease your ankles."

"Um, I'd really rather not. Bad experiences with potions, y'know?" Sarah said, thinking of Yeg and his evil potion that had done all this.

"I insist. It will help you strengthen yourself for labour." Magred said firmly, and Sarah relented.

"Give me it, I'll consult Jareth before I take anything." She said impatiently. "I really must be going anyway. Thank you very much for seeing me."

"You're very welcome. It is always an honour to help with a royal birth, and this is rather a unique one."

"I suppose."

"There is no supposing about it. A changeling queen, damaged babies.."

"My babies are not damaged!" Sarah said sharply, the ferocity in her voice taking her aback. "My babies are perfect. You will not call them damaged again, or you will feel my temper. Excuse me."

Sarah vanished, landing in Jareth's office. He was there alone, thankfully, and when he opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, she started sobbing.

"What's wrong darling?" He asked, holding her closely and trying to calm her by stroking her hair. She still sobbed, but she calmed down a little after ten or fifteen seconds.

"The midwife called the twins damaged." She cried out, and Jareth held her head against his shoulder. "I know they are but it hurt."

"It's alright darling. You don't have to see her again. I won't have anyone say things like that about our children. Do you want me to bog her?" Jareth asked, only half joking. Sarah laughed despite herself, shaking her head against his shirt.

"No. No, she hasn't done anything wrong. I'm just sensitive." She stepped back from him and looked down at her belly. "We need to go above in five weeks, I think. Any longer and everyone will wonder where I've gone, plus I'd like to be near the hospital just in case anything happens."

"Of course darling. Whatever you want to do, just tell me and I will make it happen."

"Thanks for being so supportive." Sarah whispered. "I feel like I've let you down."

"Never. You could never let me down." He told her firmly, the very suggestion hurting him. "I am so proud of you precious. You are so strong, so patient with my ways. I'm sorry our children have a difficult start of life, it's all my fault." Jareth said, stroking hair out of her face. She looked up at his eyes and saw so much anguish there, she almost started crying again.

"No. No, it's Juturna's fault."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review!  
**


	35. Needle And Thread

"My back hurts." Sarah groaned, lowering herself into a chair in the garden that Jareth supplied for her. The weather was blissful, hot and sunny with a pleasant breeze. Jareth was happy, and so the weather was pleasant as well. "And I'm enormous. You're going to have to roll me around soon, your magic won't be able to take me."

"You're not that big." Jareth said reassuringly, helping her down. Her bump was quite large, but it was neat and suited her. "You still have a few weeks to go, anyway. You're going to get bigger."

"I'll explode! How can I possibly get any bigger?" She moaned, and he sat beside her and rubbed her stomach fondly.

"You're only thirty one weeks, darling." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She smiled happily, and leaned her head up to kiss his lips.

"I love that." Sarah said, stretching her neck back and basking in the sunlight. She wiggled her bare feet and stretched her legs out. She was wearing Underground clothes, or some variation of them at least - a simple, floor length cream dress. There was no bodice to it (at her request) so it hung like a sack on her. It wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was comfortable.

"What?" Jareth asked in confusion; he hadn't done anything.

"That you know exactly how many weeks pregnant I am. It's sweet."

"Why wouldn't I know? I'm counting down the days." He shrugged, wrapping an arm around her. "When do you want to go Above?"

"Maybe next week? My mom's going to get worried if I don't turn up soon, nobody's going to believe we're still on honeymoon when I'm about to drop. I really should have gone to visit her but I just couldn't be bothered. Then we need to get a stroller and all of that, and see my midwife." Sarah had been having checkups with Magred instead of going Above.

Sarah had found that living Underground constantly meant that her magic had been growing in strength, and she was reluctant to interfere with that by returning Above as often as they had done in the past. She knew that once they got there, she would want to stay. She was expecting the babies to arrive at the earliest in around five weeks, but as everything could be done Above with a flick of Jareth's hand, there was no real rush to get back.

"Whenever you want precious. Everything is in place for me to go Above for a while, including enchantments to make it look like I'm still here."

"You can still come here every day like you used to." Sarah shrugged.

"Perhaps I want to take paternity leave." Jareth told her, running his fingers lazily over her stomach. "To get to know these two. What could be more important?"

"Uh, your Kingdom?"

"Never. Nothing is more important than you and them, Sarah. Nothing." He said surprisingly sharply, and Sarah nodded in astonishment.

"Okay, I believe you." She winced a little, and Jareth eyed her carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I've just got a cramp or something. It's normal, I read it in a pamphlet. Something called Braxton-Hicks contractions, it's strengthening the womb for labour." She told him, gasping again in pain.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to fetch Magred? Or take you Above?" Jareth leapt from his seat and hovered over her awkwardly, and Sarah yanked him back down by his arm.

"Calm down honey. Yeah I'm sure. I've had them before, I just didn't tell you. They pass after a while."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He grumbled, resting a hand on her stomach. He could feel it harden and relax under his hand. "I can feel it."

"I know, you can see it too but I'm not getting naked out here to show you." She laughed. "I didn't tell you because you'd panic. Like you did just then."

"Can you blame me? I've never done this before, I don't think I've ever cared this much about anything before."

"Not even me?" She asked wryly, and he shook his head apologetically.

"You excluded. You know what I meant."

"I know. It's fine, everything will be fine. In a few weeks, we'll have our babies and whatever happens, we will love them. Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

"We're still getting gifts for our wedding." Sarah said, sitting in front of her vanity and cleaning her face. "One of the goblins handed me this list of everything that's arrived. We now have thirty gold goblets. What are we going to do with thirty gold goblets?"

"We'll just have to have twenty eight children, then we'll have one each." Jareth told her earnestly, and she laughed.

"Great idea. Can't we just return them?"

"Returning them would be an insult. These are from the supposedly great and good of the Underground, Sarah, not Barney's." He said with a smile.

"True. The pixies sent a beautiful cradle, it's a pity we need two." She wiped a white ointment over her face and let it linger there for a few minutes.

"I'll just copy it." Jareth shrugged, unbuttoning his shirt. "Have you decided when you want to go Above yet? It's nearly been two weeks since you said 'next week', you know."

"I know." Sarah sighed. Her stomach had gotten even bigger, and she could hardly bend over, let alone see her feet. She was sitting far away from her vanity, yet her stomach touched the wood. "I just don't want to leave. Leaving is like admitting to myself that my babies won't have magic, y'know?"

"I know darling. But we need to do what's best for them. Here they wouldn't survive for very long without magic." He said softly, pulling off his trousers and putting his nightwear on.

"But I was reading in 'Inter species relationships' that Fae babies need to be in a magical environment to strengthen their magic; if they are born above, they will be mortal. Maybe if we keep the babies here, their Fae genes will take over." Sarah babbled, convinced the dusty book she had been reading that afternoon held all the answers.

"Sarah," he said as gently as he could. "That book is thousands of years old, and has been dis proven. It's all propaganda and nonsense about interbreeding in there. I didn't know I even had copy of that in the library."

"Oh." She said sadly. "I thought I was on to something there."

"There are so many Fae who live above that get humans pregnant and still have Fae children that that can't possibly be true." Jareth told her reasonably, and she shrugged. She wiped off the goop she had on her face, and stood up.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that." She tried to smile. "Worth a shot right? Let's go to bed, I'm tired. My stomach's hurting again."

"Are you sure you're alright? You haven't seen an Above doctor for nearly two months."

"Six weeks. I'm fine!" Sarah bit out as a particularly strong pain shot through her side. She grabbed onto the vanity to steady herself, sending several glass bottles crashing to the floor. "Ouch."

"Use your magic to heal yourself." Jareth instructed her, and she glared at him.

"I'm trying. It's not working." Sarah grunted. He stood behind her for a while, trying to use his magic to ease her pain. She leaned back against him, closing her eyes and breathing steadily. Suddenly, she doubled over, a scream unlike anything Jareth had heard from her echoing around the room. She was gripping the wooden table with such force that it began to splinter under her fingers. He moved her away from the table, and saw out of the corner of his eye that there was a puddle of blood on the floor where she had been standing, and when she turned around the back of her nightgown was stained red.

"Sarah!" He asked in a blind panic, unsure of what to do.

"Something's wrong." She bit out, looking up at him. Her face was contorted in pain, her forehead glistening with sweat. "We need to go Above, to the hospital."

"Okay, I'll-" He went to lift her, and he stopped. He could feel something; the familiar sense of Juturna - she truly had attached herself to the babies. He tried to focus on her life force, and felt sickened when he realized his sister was fading. "Oh no. Oh no! Those bastard Elves!"

"Jareth take me Above right now! What the hell are you talking about?!" Sarah shouted at him, grimacing as more pain shot through her. She felt a rushing sensation, and looked down in horror as her feet were covered in liquid. "My water just broke. Jareth! Take me Above now!"

He wasn't listening to her, his eyes closed and hands clamped over her belly. She hit him on the shoulder to get his attention, and he looked up. His eyes were panicked, his breathing hitched.

"You need to stay here. I'll get my mother and Magred, I'll be back in two seconds, alright? Stay calm, just breathe." He told her, and she looked at him in disbelief.

"What?! You're not going anywhere! My water's broken, that means the babies are coming." She screamed again as pain tore through her body. "Well just hurry up!"

Jareth vanished as quickly as he could, ending up outside his mother's bedchamber. He pounded on the door with his fist, and she opened the door in tired bemusement. As soon as she saw her son, his panic washed over her.

"What's happened?!" She asked him, and Jareth shook his head.

"You need to come with me, send a summons for Magred. Something's happened to Juturna, I know it, and Sarah isn't well. She's bleeding."

"Come." Arethusa vanished first, and Jareth followed suit.

When they returned to Sarah, she was lying on the bed rocking in pain and sobbing.

"Jareth! Take me Above right now!" She screamed at him.

"Sarah, you need to stay down here. This can't be explained to the mortals, alright? Now, my mother will stay with you until I get back. I've wasted too much time already."

"Where are you going?! You can't leave me!" She sobbed, as Arethusa helped her to the bed.

He was already gone. Sarah cried out in frustration, sobs shaking her already pain filled body. Arethusa tried to shush her, and Sarah felt the now familiar feeling of her mother in law's interference.

"Arethusa stop trying to make me calm! I'm not fucking calm alright!" She cried out, as another pain shot through her. "Where the hell is Magred anyway?"

"She'll be here soon dear." The older woman tried to sooth her, ignoring the profanity. "It will be alright."

"How can it be alright? Juturna's done something to them, it's too soon for them to be born and it hurts so much."

"It's meant to hurt dear. Perhaps it has nothing to do with Juturna at all. Jareth will go check on her, then he'll take you Above and everything will be alright, yes? Just think of your children, darling. You'll be holding them soon."

"Will I?" Sarah sobbed. "You promise?"

"Yes dear. I promise."

* * *

Jareth took himself to the entrance of the dungeon at the High Castle - the dungeons themselves were inaccessible using magic, for obvious reasons - there was salt in these walls, the simplest way to block magic. The guard recognized him and let him straight through, leading the way with a lit torch. Jareth was running, knowing that several minutes had passed since he first felt Juturna's presence.

When he reached Juturna's cell, he saw there was another figure in there with her - in the darkness he could see pointy ears,and he knew his instincts were correct; an Elf.

"Who are you?" Jareth demanded, and as the jailer moved the torch down, he could see that the floor was covered with blood. He charged in through the open door and pulled the elf backwards, and he saw that Juturna was lying lifeless on the floor.

"What have you done?!" Jareth roared in fury, as the Elf gave him a toothless smile.

"You was taking too long. Elves want justice, we take justice." The man said, his voice smug and insufferable. Jareth felt rage surge through him, the urge to rip this treacherous bastard's throat out overpowering him.

"You fool! I had an agreement with Aelfric's brothers!" Jareth spat, grabbing the man by the shirt. If he had killed her, Jareth's children were dead too.

"We don't care about no agreement. She killed our King, so we killed her." The man shrugged, standing defiantly before the Goblin King. He had no idea of the power that Jareth possessed, or how easily he could destroy him.

In anger, Jareth summoned a crystal and threw it at the man, knocking him out immediately. He bent down to examine his sister; she was badly hurt, a stab wound in her side, but breathing. Elves weren't the cleverest creatures; any fool knew that if you want to kill someone, go for the heart or an artery. Juturna had been chained to the wall, a sitting duck, and still this fool had managed to botch it, mercifully enough.

"Take him to a cell." Jareth said dismissively. He would deal with the assassin later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was keeping Juturna alive.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jareth gingerly scooped Juturna into his arms. He staggered to the entrance of the dungeon with her, checking to make sure she was still breathing. He could feel blood drip through his fingers, and his sister made small whimpering noises as he moved her.

"You will not die. Do you hear me Jut? I will not let you die!" He told her sternly, though her eyes did not open.

Once he had reached the entrance to the dungeon, where magic was allowed again, he took himself and Juturna to his bedroom. Arethusa turned to him, and screamed when she saw the sight that awaited her. Sarah looked up to yell at him for leaving her again, and stopped when she saw who he was carrying, everything falling into place. Her face drained of colour, and she got up from the bed, staggering a little.

"Put her there." She told him, and Jareth laid her out on the bed. Juturna was losing blood quickly, her face death white underneath all the dirt. "We need a medic."

Sarah ripped Juturna's clothes, exposing the stab wound. She took a deep breath, and tried to summon her magic into her hands. Pain was weakening her body, but pure determination powered her magic, and it flowed through her fingertips with ease. She would heal this horrible woman if it killed her, knowing that her babies were counting on her.

"It isn't working!" She grasped her stomach again as pain gripped her. "Ah! Jareth, help me, I need your magic too or this won't work."

Jareth ran over and placed his hands on top of Sarah's. Their magic glowed together, and flowed into the wound. Juturna began to stir, coughing. There was blood staining her mouth, but Sarah just focused on what she was doing.

Arethusa was in the corner, weeping. The pain of being an Empath at his moment was overwhelming; she was experiencing Juturna's and Sarah's agony at the same time, and it was excruciating.

Juturna's eyes opened slowly, taking in her surroundings. Sarah stepped back in relief, exhausted, and Jareth didn't move a muscle.

"Where am I?" Juturna asked, her voice raspy and quiet. "Am I dead? Is this hell?"

"Not yet. You just survived an assassination attempt." Jareth said, helping Sarah to sit down. She was exhausted, her power drained. The pain had started to ease a little, but she still needed to see a midwife. Arethusa had sent a summons, but Magred still wasn't here.

"I did?" Jutunra asked weakly, looking confused. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

"I was here to see Sarah." Arethusa said, weeping. "I should have known. I blocked you out Juturna, I'm sorry. Jareth, if I hadn't blocked her I would have known something was wrong sooner and.."

"Mother, don't blame yourself. Everything is alright. I'll take Sarah Above to the hospital, it will all be fine." He turned to his sister with a hard stare. "Juturna, give my children their magic back _now_. They almost died with you. Cut the ties that bind you to them." Jareth begged, willing to give her anything just to stop her.

"I refuse." Juturna bit out. Sarah cried out in anguish, her hands on her stomach protectively.

"I will spare your life!" Jareth begged, his hands on her shoulders. Through her delirium, she fixed her eyes on his, and smiled.

"I don't care about my life. My life is over."

"Juturna, please! Stop taunting your brother, let him have some happiness." Arethusa begged. "Let him know the joy of being a parent."

"There will be other children." Juturna whispered. She began coughing heavily, more blood coming from her mouth. "Let him suffer."

"No!" Sarah screamed, unable to keep silent anymore. "These are my children too and I will not have you discuss them like they are nothing! Give them their powers back, don't let them be mortal."

"It is too late. They _are_ mortal. Cutting the ties would only mean they don't die when I die." Juturna hissed.

"Then do it! That will be enough!" Sarah begged her, grabbing at her hands. Juturna looked hesitantly at her.

"I have no magic." She said weakly.

"I can't give you your magic back, you'll escape." Jareth interrupted her. "You're as predictable as the alphabet."

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know, that's the point." Jareth said irritably. "Cut the ties!"

Arethusa said nothing, but Sarah felt the atmosphere in the room change. Juturna's face twisted into what looked like a genuine smile.

"I will cut the ties."

"What?" Jareth asked in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I will cut the ties."

Jareth looked at Sarah, unsure if this was yet another trick. He took a deep breath and removed his amulet, something Sarah had never seen him do before. He placed it on Juturna's chest, and muttered some words under his breath.

Golden light began to spread through Juturna, lighting a trial as it went. Sarah watched in wonder, amazed once again at her husband's skill and power.

"You have enough to reverse the spell. Do it now." Jareth urged her.

Juturna closed her eyes and raised a hand. She placed it over her own heart, and drew her hand up as though pulling a piece of string. Sarah watched in awe as she saw a tiny golden line form between her chest and her finger. Juturna wound her hand in a small circle, winding the invisible thread around her finger. Jareth pulled Sarah to him, and took the thread from Juturna. He touched Sarah's stomach once, and the thread disappeared.

Juturna repeated the action, and Sarah began to cry in relief as the second thread was pressed against her stomach.

"Thank you." She cried, and Jareth hugged her fiercely, cradling her stomach. "Thank you."

"Mother, you changed my emotions." Juturna bit out, wincing with pain. Sarah could no longer feel the sharp pain, and the bleeding she had felt as though it had stopped; now there was just a dull throbbing sensation. "I didn't want to do that."

"Yes you did. Inside, you did." Arethusa sat on the bed besides her daughter, and stroked her hair from her face. Her voice was soft, and she looked down at her eldest child. "Juju, you're dying sweetheart. I can feel it. You've done a good thing."

"I'm dying?" Juturna asked fearfully, and she began coughing again, turning into the pillow. More blood stained the linen, and Sarah looked on in horror. Jareth tried to move her away, conscious of the fact her water had broken and she was in labour, but Sarah shook her head.

"Yes, darling. You're getting weaker, I can feel you moving further away from me."

"I don't want to die Mummy." Juturna said in a quiet voice, clutching her mother's hand. and Sarah felt tears prick her eyes. She may have been an evil bitch, but Juturna was still Arethusa's child. "I'm scared."

"I know darling. It will be alright. Just close your eyes darling, it will all be alright, I promise." Arethusa said soothingly, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Don't leave me, Mummy. Please don't leave me alone." Juturna begged; she was a child again, any coldness gone from her. Everyone feared Death when he came to claim them. "Stay with me."

"Until the end." Arethusa told her sincerely, and Juturna smiled serenely. Her eyes closed, and her breathing grew ragged. Jareth could feel the connection they shared, the strongest it had been since they were children, begin to fade to nothing. She really was dying.

The only sound in the room was Juturna's laboured breathing, and suddenly - there was silence. She was gone.

Arethusa sobbed, and Sarah and Jareth looked at each other, unable to believe how much had just happened.

On Juturna's motionless chest, Jareth's amulet began to glow.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I cried a little bit..Please review!  
**


	36. Very Different Today

Sarah stood in stunned silence, taking in the sight of her sister in law's body lying there, on the bed Sarah and Jareth shared. The room was heavy with the scent of blood and death, and it made Sarah retch a little. Her womb tightened, and she could no longer ignore the fact she was in labour.

"Jareth, we need to go Above now. Please. The babies are going to be born tonight, I can't have them here." She begged him, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"Alright. Mother, we have to go. Sarah's in labour." He said slowly, knowing his mother was in a state of total shock. He walked over to her and touched her, and the older woman flinched. She looked up at him, and it was as though she couldn't see him at all.

"Mother?

"Your amulet." Arethusa said in a daze, removing it from Juturna's chest and handing it back to Jareth. "Don't forget it."

"Thank you." Jareth placed the chain over his head, letting it fall back to where it belonged. "Mother, let me take you home."

"No. I need to clean her, to get her ready for burial." His mother said, her voice distant and small. She was lost, confused, and he didn't want to leave her alone.

"And you can. I think you need Father here, he'll help you." Jareth said softly, trying not to look at Juturna's body. It was funny, he had been prepared to execute her, but seeing her here, like this, was something he couldn't even look at.

"I can do it." Arethusa snapped, and Jareth took her hands. She looked up at him guiltily. "Take her Above, waste no time. I need to see Alaric, to hold him in my arms."

"Of course. Mother, she did a good thing before she died. _You_ did a good thing." Jareth said softly, kneeling beside her. His mother pressed a kiss to his cheek, holding him close to her for a few seconds. Jareth returned the hug, grateful that his mother had helped Juturna to do the right thing in her last moments of living.

"Go." Arethusa could hardly speak, tears began to fall from her eyes once more. "You have my blessings. May Mother Nature guide you, Sarah, and keep you."

"Thank you, Arethusa. Thank you for everything. Jareth, let's go through the mirror, please." She said, trying not to yell out as another contraction gripped her.

"Goodbye Mother." Jareth said, standing up and touching his mother on the shoulder. She nodded, once again staring at Juturna's body. Jareth felt awful for leaving her, and summoned a crystal and made it vanish again - sending it to his father.

He took Sarah's hand and walked her to the mirror, waving a hand. The glass vanished, and the pair stepped through with one last look at Arethusa, now weeping over her daughter's body.

Standing in their London bedroom, which was dark and cold, Sarah let out a shaky breath. Another contraction hit her; they were becoming more frequent, and Sarah wondered if she was meant to time them. She hadn't even been to a birthing class yet.

"I need to shower." She said when the pain had passed. "I'm covered in blood. So are you."

Jareth waved a hand and he was clean. He went to do the same for her, and she shook her head.

"No, let me shower. I'll be really fast, but I just need a minute, okay? Your sister just died in front of us." She explained, her voice shaking, and Jareth held her hand.

"Sarah, I know it was an awful thing to see, but the babies could still be in trouble, it's not as if her energy was particularly strong when she cut the bond." He said; for all they knew, the babies could already have died - they would be so much more vulnerable than an adult.

"Alright." Sarah said reluctantly, and Jareth waved a hand. The blood vanished. "I'll change into something clean and then we can go."

"You're stalling, precious." Jareth said quietly. "I know you're scared, but not going to the hospital won't change anything."

"I know. I know it won't." She quickly changed into a baggy shirt and sweatpants. "I don't even have a hospital bag ready."

"Just grab an empty bag to keep up appearances, anything you need I can get for you. We need to go. It will be okay, I won't leave your side for a second." He told her solemnly, and she looked up at him with scared eyes.

"You promise?" She asked him quietly, and he leaned down and kissed her gently, stroking her face.

"I promise. Come on darling, let's go get our babies."

* * *

"Hello Sarah, I'll be your midwife for tonight. My name's Amanda." A short blonde woman wearing a blue uniform told them. She looked friendly enough, and Jareth just hoped she would give them good news.

"Hi." Sarah said, sitting up in the hospital bed. She shifted uncomfortably, her back aching. She had already been examined once, and it had been determined that she was definitely in labour and given a hospital gown to change into. She hoped that meant there wouldn't be long to go; fear filled her, and she wouldn't believe her babies were safe until they were in her arms.

"So, according to what you told us, you've had some heavy bleeding tonight and your waters broke around an hour ago, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. And the contractions are every five minutes or so and they last about a minute each time." Sarah said in a hurry, just wanting to hear the sound of her babies' hearts beating.

"Right." Amanda said, looking down at her notes. "We're going to check babies' heartbeats first, just to make sure that bleeding isn't anything to worry about. We'll hook you up to a few monitors too, and we'll see how everything's going. Does that sound alright?"

"Yes, fine." Sarah said, wishing English doctors would just do things instead of telling you exactly what they had planned first. "I haven't felt the babies move for a few hours."

"Okay, well the heartbeat monitoring will give us a good picture of what's going on." Sarah waited impatiently as Amanda fixed sensors on her stomach.

Jareth had no idea at all what the technology was, and watched in anxious bemusement, just waiting to hear their heartbeats. When everything was finally in place, Amanda fiddled with a few things and suddenly the room was filled with the loud whirring sound that Sarah recognized as her babies' heartbeats.

"Oh thank God for that." Sarah said, her head falling back against the pillows in relief. Jareth squeezed her hand, and he smiled reassuringly at her. "Do they sound okay?"

"They're a little faster than we'd like." Amanda said, making notes. "We'll monitor you constantly, and we'll see how you go after a few contractions.

"But they're both alive right?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"Yes, they are."

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you." Sarah said to nobody in particular.

There was silence as the midwife hooked her up to blood pressure monitors and other things Sarah didn't really understand. When she was wired in, Amanda stepped back.

"I'll be back in a while, okay? Settle in, there's a little while to wait yet."

"Thank you." Jareth told the woman, who left the room. "How are you feeling, darling?"

"Like a lab rat." Sarah said, looking down at all the sensors stuck to her. "I can't get my head around everything."

"I know. There's time to absorb later, right now we need to focus on you. When the next contraction comes, I want you to use your magic to ease it, alright? You don't need to be in as much pain as you have been, Sarah."

"Okay. Am I allowed drugs?" She asked, feeling so tired she could hardly speak. "I want drugs."

"No. No drugs." Jareth said firmly. "They will just make you sick. Magic is more powerful than any drug, if you use it correctly. You're already in advanced labour and you can talk and move around; your magic is looking after you already, you just need to give it a little help."

"I wish I'd paid more attention to what Magred told me." Sarah sighed, and she squeezed Jareth's hand hard. "Another one's coming."

"Just breathe through it precious." He told her, watching as she screwed her face up with pain. "Keep breathing." He counted in his head, and watched as the equipment writing on the piece of paper beneath the monitor spiked. "Another deep breath." After twenty seconds, Sarah let out a gutteral, low pitched moan that lasted thirty seconds, and then it began to subside.

"One minute, five seconds." Jareth told her, and she looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"You were counting?" She asked, closing her eyes and wishing she could sleep. Th adrenalin she had felt in the Underground was wearing off now, and her body was beginning to feel exhausted by the mammoth task it was undertaking.

"I thought I'd make myself useful." Jareth shrugged, rubbing her back.

"Oh. Thanks." She shifted on the bed, rubbing the patch of her stomach that wasn't covered in medical paraphernalia. "I tried using my magic that time."

"How was it?"

"It didn't work. If you give me any more BS about breathing, I swear I will kick you in the nuts and tell you to breathe through that, alright?"

"Understood." Jareth said, crossing his legs unconsciously. "I was just trying to relax you, I'm sorry."

"I know you were, I appreciate it. I just want them here." She groaned. "I'm so tired."

"Sarah, you haven't been in labour very long. This could last for days." Jareth told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She moaned miserably.

"Days? No way. I'm getting them out as soon as I can, I need them where I can see them." Jareth stopped himself from laughing. "I'm serious, Jareth. I feel like I can't protect them inside me, I need them here."

"You've done a great job of keeping them safe, darling. Never think otherwise." Jareth told her firmly. It was him who had let her down, him who had the psychopath sister.

"They'll be okay now, won't they?" Sarah asked nervously. "They're alive, and Juturna isn't. She really did cut the thread didn't she?"

"Yes, darling. She did. Just don't think anymore."

"Are you sad?" Sarah asked, looking up at him with heavy lidded eyes.

"I don't know what I am. I'm angry, I'm confused, I'm concerned." Jareth admitted. "I hate to think what the weather's like in the Labyrinth right now."

"I hope we can take the children to see it one day." She sighed, her eyes closing again. She was trying to rest in between contractions, but talking to Jareth distracted and soothed her panicked mind.

"So do I, precious. We'll see." He didn't want to draw her into yet another conversation about where their children would live, what they would be able to do. Now wasn't the time for all that.

"Have you thought about any names yet?" Sarah asked. "I've looked in some baby name books."

"You have?" Jareth asked her, sitting down in the chair beside the bed. He stroked her hand gently. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I only started a couple days ago, it wasn't anything serious. I was going to talk to you about it tonight, but it all went a bit wrong. I saw one I liked for the girl though, it's stuck in my head." She told him, her voice sounding far away and dreamy.

"You did?" He asked her softly, stroking her hair fondly.

"Hermione."

"Hermione." He mulled the name over, wondering if it sounded familiar to him. "Like Helen of Troy's daughter?"

"I was thinking like the Hermione in Shakespeare. I always liked The Winter's Tale, back in my dramatic days." Sarah told him, remembering with a smile how she had practiced standing still like a statue for hours.

"I think it's a lovely name. And the boy?" Jareth asked, and Sarah looked up at him.

"Do you want to call him Jareth?" She asked him sincerely, and he shook his head.

"No, no he needs his own name." Jareth said firmly; once upon a time, he had been tempted to rename Toby after himself, but now it just seemed vain. His son needed his own identity, to be his own person.

"Hold on." Sarah said, gritting her teeth. The contraction gripped her, and though she tried to focus her magic, it wouldn't work. She screamed in pain, squeezing Jareth's hand so hard he felt a bone break in two.

"Oh fucking hell Sarah!" He howled, trying unsuccessfully to yank his hand from her grasp. Her strength was instinctive and uncontrolled, there was no restraint to hold her back.

Jareth swore so rarely that it sounded funny to her, and despite the pain she was in she started laughing hysterically. The contraction subsided after a minute or so, and she was still laughing.

"I'm glad you find the maiming of my hand so amusing, love." He grumbled, trying to heal it before his hand swelled to the size of a balloon.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." She said, still laughing. "Are you alright?"

"Aside from the fact you quite literally broke my hand, yes, I'm alright. How was that one?"

"By the end I could hardly feel it. Laughter really is the best medicine." She said happily, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, at least I could be of service to you. You let your magic do the work then, I could sense it. You should feel no pain at all if you do it properly, that's what Magred said anyway." Jareth told her, still rubbing at his hand.

"Okay. Okay, I'll concentrate on the next one I promise."

"Just try not to break anymore of my bones this time, alright? I know it amuses you but I'd like to be able to hold our children tonight."

* * *

Hours passed, and Sarah stopped talking. The contractions had stayed the same, but were becoming more and more intense. Her magic worked to a point, but she was unable to stop the pain entirely. She was in a trance, focused entirely on delivering their children. Jareth watched in awe; he had never seen a woman give birth, and the sheer determination of his wife astounded him.

As dawn began to break, something amazing happened.

His children were born.

The boy came first, purple and screaming. Jareth watched as they cleaned him, unable to believe that he had a son. He had a son that was crying and breathing and living.

"Is he okay?" Sarah panted, and he nodded wordlessly, any sound he tried to make getting lost. "Jareth!" She couldn't see him, her eyes screwed shut, and he cleared his throat and tried to speak.

"He's perfect. Utterly perfect."

"Good." She fell silent again, and as someone told her to push, Jareth watched as his daughter followed her brother into the world.

This time, there was no crying, only hushed conversation between the medical professionals in the room and Jareth felt fear grip his heart.

"Is she okay?" Sarah said, trying to sit up and look at her. "I can't hear her."

Jareth watched as the doctor rubbed at the baby with a towel, and he tried to make sure Sarah didn't look over there. He held her hand and tried to distract her, but she watched with fierce eyes at her baby girl.

"Some babies' lungs just need a little help to get going. Your babies are premature, their lungs aren't as strong as full term babies. It's going to be alright." The midwife hovering somewhere near Sarah's ankles explained in a cheery voice, but Jareth hardly heard her.

Finally, a reedy, angry cry filled the room, and Sarah sobbed with relief.

"You did it, darling. I am so, so proud of you." Jareth kissed the top of her head, not taking his eyes off the two babies being cleaned in the corner of the room. His children. Their children.

There was a lull for a while as they waited for the placenta to emerge, something Jareth didn't really want to know the details of. He was mesmerised by his children, but he wanted Sarah to hold them first, so allowed the doctors to take their time cleaning and swaddling them until she was ready. Sarah lay there in a daze, unable to speak or even really think. After a few minutes, she felt her mind begin to work again, and she smiled at Jareth happily.

"Can I hold them?" Sarah asked when everything was finished, an exhausted smile on her face. Jareth watched as the midwife pulled Sarah's gown down a little, exposing her shoulders and chest. After a moment, the boy, wrapped up in a bundle, was placed on her chest.

"Baby girl will be over in a minute, we're just measuring her."

"Our son." Sarah said, holding out a finger to her child. "Hello, buddy."

Jareth stood beside them, watching Sarah speak to their son. He stood there, stroking the little boy's damp hair fondly with one finger. His downy hair was almost white, just like his father's. His eyes were shut, his lips plump and pouty beneath a little button nose. He was perfection.

"Tomas."

"What?" Sarah said in confusion, smiling as the baby wrapped his hand around her finger.

"I want to call him Tomas." Jareth told her, looking at her. She looked exhausted, and he realised for the first time that her markings were hidden, but not with makeup - she had managed to create and maintain a glamour through the trauma of labour. She really was a remarkable woman.

"Tomas. I like that. Does it mean anything?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the baby.

"Twin."

"You want to call our son 'twin'?" Sarah frowned, and Jareth shrugged.

"I want to make sure he values his sister a lot more than I valued mine." He told her simply, running a finger delicately down his nose. "What do you think? If you don't like it, we don't have to use it."

"Tomas and Hermione." She said in a daze. "Tomas and Hermione. I like it."

"And here's baby girl." The doctor said, carrying the second baby and placing her on Sarah's chest next to her brother.

"Hermione." Sarah said, testing the name out. She looked at her daughter's face, so similar to her brother's. She was smaller than he was, a delicate little thing with a smattering of dark brown hair on her head, though not nearly as much as her brother had. She moved a little, her arms seeming as fragile as twigs.

"Hello my darlings." Jareth whispered, unable to believe these two tiny things would depend on him and Sarah for their very survival. "This is your mummy."

"And this is your daddy." Sarah smiled. She ran her finger down Hermione's face, and gasped. She leaned over to her husband, and whispered in his ear. "Jareth, feel near her eye. Careful."

Jareth frowned at her, and she nodded encouragingly. He did as he was told, and just by her eyebrow he could feel a very definite line. He looked down at his daughter, and traced it again. It was a triangular line, going from by her eyebrow, up to near her forehead, and back down to the corner of her eye.

"Check Tomas." Sarah commanded him under her breath, shifting a little so the boy was easier to access. Jareth did the same, and almost wept when he felt the same.

"Their markings have started to grow." He whispered in disbelief, not wanting anyone else to hear. "They're going to have markings."

"They could be from before Juturna cast the spell." Sarah said, trying not to get her hopes up.

"We'll see soon enough."

* * *

 **A/N: So the babies have been born! I got some messages and stuff asking if I would call one of the children "Bowie"..I didn't think that would fit, but I had already planned some David Bowie themed names for them. I hope you like them.  
**

 **Please review!**


	37. Answering To Elves

Jareth watched as Sarah slept, exhausted by her labour. It was the middle of the day, and the hospital was unbearably loud. He had been told to go home several times by bossy nurses, but he kept reappearing. They were in a private room, and he could just leave as soon as he sensed anyone outside the door.

The babies were beside her, each in their own little plastic cot. Although they had been premature, by some miracle they required no extra medical care. Jareth wondered if it was the magic he and Sarah had been giving to them speeding up their growth; whatever it was, he was thankful for it.

He leaned over the two sleeping children, wrapped in blankets and wearing little hats; pink for Hermione, blue for Tomas. They were so perfect, he couldn't believe they were half him. Half Sarah yes; she was perfection personified. But to be responsible for the creation of such purity - that was something he couldn't believe he was capable.

Sarah stirred a little, and he looked over his shoulder at her. She had done so well; her labour had been long and exhausting, and she had been reluctant to sleep at first. She hadn't wanted to close her eyes at all, but he had promised her that he would stay until she woke.

He felt the energy in the room shift, and he turned to find his father standing there. Jareth jumped; he was the last person he'd expected to see in a human hospital.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Jareth hissed, not wanting Sarah to wake up or the human nurses to find this man dressed in insane clothes standing in the room with no explanation. "I'm a little busy."

"I can see that. Congratulations son."

"Yes, well you can visit them when I'm in my home or Underground, what do you want?" He whispered, his eyes fixed on Sarah. She would panic if she saw the High King here.

"It is the Elves. They've found out about Juturna's death and they are angry. They think you killed her to save her public humiliation."

"I did no such thing. I have a few choice words for the Elves, it was their assassin that did it. He's in your dungeon."

"There is nobody in the dungeon." Hefeyd admitted, shifting uneasily.

"What?" He said in a rage. "I put him there myself!"

"He's gone."

"How is that possible?!" Jareth asked, struggling to keep his voice down.

"We don't know, but you need to come Underground now. There is unrest and I am concerned this could escalate into a full on war."

"My children are hours old! I can't just leave them."

"Sarah is here." Hefeyd said as though everything was fine. Underground men were traditonally rather uninovlved with child rearing, and Hefeyd couldn't understand why Jareth was being so odd about leaving the babes.

"Sarah is asleep after an exhausting labour! She is trusting me to stay and watch over them all and I will not let her down, not again."

"It's not as though they are in any real danger. Juturna's dead, and they have no magic."

"I believe they could have magic." Jareth said lightly, though his hands were balled into fists by his side.

"There is no magic. I sense nothing." The High King said dismissively. "You are clutching at straws, son."

"They have markings." Jareth said firmly, thinking of the lines on their faces. They weren't strictly markings yet, but the fact that they had any sign of them at all was one Jareth was clinging to.

The High King peered into their cribs. He lifted up the corner of Hermione's little hat, and Jareth wanted to bat his hand away. He was examining her as though she was nothing - there was no tenderness, only practicality.

"They have scars. Son, we don't have time to debate this. You need to come Underground now. This is your mess and you need to help me clear it up."

"My mess?! She was your daughter, you could have intervened months ago and you did nothing! If Mother hadn't made her cut the thread attached to the twins, my children would be dead along with her and it would all be thanks to those pointy eared bastards! Now, I will come Underground when I am ready. Tell the Elves that."

"I command you." His father said, looking so red Jareth thought he might explode. He eyed his father warily, trying to control his temper in respect of the fact they were in a mortal hospital.

"You command me?" Jareth said bitterly. "Where was this commanding High King when Juturna was spying on me, poisoning my wife and stealing my unborn children's magic? If only you had been so commanding over your children then."

"You blame me for Juturna's actions?" Hefeyd asked incredulously. "I had no idea what she was planning!"

"I warned you months ago! You must have had intelligence telling you she was spying on me, I don't believe nobody saw what was going on. Father, I have run out of patience. She is dead and my torment is over, I will not sit there and justify myself to the Elves when they are the reason she is dead! I am sorry they are denied their public execution, but I am busy!"

"You need to decide what you want to be, Jareth." His father said coldly, looking over at Sarah, somehow still sleeping peacefully. "A King, or a pathetic human lover with powerless mortal half breeds as his heirs."

"They are not powerless, and I am not pathetic. I love my wife, I love my children. Love, Father. It's that emotion you feel towards ale and women with large breasts, sound familiar?" Jareth spat, watching his father turn red with rage.

"You dare speak to me like this?" He demanded in outrage, and Jareth sneered at him.

"Yes, I dare. You come here and disturb me when I am with my newborn children, and accuse me of not acting like a King? I will return Underground and I will sort this mess out, secure in the knowledge that when I am High King, I will know if one of my children is a psychopathic murderer!" Jareth said, his voice low and hushed.

"When? If!" Hefeyd retorted angrily, and Jareth laughed openly at him.

"If? Who would you name heir instead? I am the only one with a head level enough not to plunge the entire Underground into war and you know it. Leave me. I will be with you shortly."

The High King left without a word, though his face was twisted into a picture of humiliation and rage. Jareth sat down heavily, and closed his eyes.

"Never argue in front of the children again." Sarah said, her voice hard. He opened his eyes and saw her sitting up in bed, looking furious. "I don't like it."

"You're awake. Did you hear all that?" Jareth asked, stroking her hand comfortingly. She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. He knew that his father's words would upset her,and he was livid that she had heard every damaging slur against her.

"Every word. Human lover, there's that phrase again. He pretends to like me, but he doesn't accept me." Sarah said bitterly, a tear falling down her cheek. "How could he be so cruel about the babies? He didn't even hold them, did he?"

"No. I need to go love, you heard him. I need to sort out those Elves and then I'll be back. We can all go home and have some peace, alright? I can't wait."

"I don't want you to go." Sarah said weakly, holding his hand. She kissed his ring finger, and he smiled down at her tenderly. He really did love her so much, he thought his heart might burst.

"Me neither." Jareth whispered, kissing her lips. "I don't want to leave you, but I have to."

"I understand. Will everything be alright with your father? He won't remove you from succession will he?" Sarah frowned, biting her lip with concern. Jareth shook his head.

"No. He'll threaten it, but Mother would never allow it. However much he plays the big man, she has a great deal of influence over him. Well, she has a great deal of influence over anybody." Jareth said, thinking of how his mother could essentially bend the will of anybody. There were limits to her powers, but they were still remarkable.

"I want her to meet the babies when we go home. I know she'll love them." Sarah said with a wistful smile, feeling irritated that the first time her children met one of their grandparents was so unpleasant. "I still need to call my mom, she has no idea we were even in London. She's gonna freak."

"Wait until we're at home. I'm going to be back just as soon as I can be, alright love?"

"Okay." Sarah said uneasily. There was a little cry from beside the bed, and Sarah looked over at the cots. "Pass me the babies before you go."

"Both of them at once?" Jareth asked with a small smile, and Sarah nodded adamantly.

"Yeah. They need to be fed, I'll figure it out." She told him, holding her arms out expectantly.

He lifted Hermione first, placing her in Sarah's waiting arms and Sarah kissed her plump little cheek happily.

"Hello baby. Are you hungry? Are you?" Sarah said softly, rubbing her nose against Hermione's. "Okay, and now Tomas." She instructed Jareth, who did as she asked.

After he had placed the little blue bundle in his mother's waiting arms, Jareth smiled. It was such a perfect scene that he didn't want to leave, but he had no choice.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" He asked, smiling at the sight of his wife balancing their two children, finally bending her knees and placing them in the crook of her thighs. She smiled triumphantly.

"Yes, love. We'll be just fine."

* * *

Jareth stormed into his father's throne room, not bothering to be announced properly. His father was sat on his throne, and Jareth was surprised to see his mother sat beside him.

"Calm down." Arethusa told him instantly. "I will not have arguing today. We need to unite, not tear each other to shreds. Juturna is dead and I will not lose anyone else, do you understand me?!"

"Yes." Jareth said, seeing that his mother looked shattered. Her eyes were ringed with grey, and her face was red and blotchy from crying. "I would ask that Father doesn't disturb me when I am with my newborn children again. Sarah was sleeping."

"Are they alright?" Arethusa asked anxiously.

"Perfect. The boy was born first." Jareth told her, and Hefeyd scoffed by her side.

"Not that it matters. They are not your heirs."

"They are my heirs!" Jareth raged, no longer restrained. "I will not have this any more Father! Those children are my blood, they are _your_ blood and they will have powers even if I have to give them my own! This prejudice against Sarah has to end and it ends here and now. How can anyone respect her as my Queen if the High King is laughing at her?"

"She cannot even give you Fae children! How do you even know you're their father? She opened her legs to you easily enough, who knows what else she has been doing."

"Hefeyd! That is enough!" Arethusa shouted. "You will cease these groundless accusations!"

"Sarah is mine." Jareth said, his voice so deep it was a growl from his throat. "She has always been mine. Those children are mine and to deny it is to embarrass yourself. They will grow into their powers, I am sure. Mother, if you will excuse me, I cannot stand to be around him."

"Wait. Their names, Jarry. What are their names?" She asked softly, using the nickname she always did in his childhood.

"Tomas and Hermione."

"Beautiful." She smiled, tears pooling in her eyes once again. "How unique."

"Human names." The High King said mockingly, and Arethusa shot him a warning look.

"Father, it is only out of respect for your position as High King and my father that I have not punched you in the mouth so far. Kindly keep your judgements to yourself. I am leaving, are the Elves here or at my castle?"

"Here, in the Great Hall. All of Aelfric's brothers." Hefeyd said sulkily, chosing to ignore his son's veiled threat. "They are angry."

"Wonderful. I'll go and have a chat with them. Have they seen her body?"

"Yes." Arethusa said quietly. "Earlier today."

"And there is still no word of where the assassin has gone?" Jareth asked, still furious that the man had been allowed to escape.

"No." Arethusa said simply, rubbing at her forehead.

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

Jareth vanished from the throne room and reappeared in the Great Hall. Five Elves stood before him, each glaring at him. There was a great deal of distrust between the two species, and they barely went to any effort to hide their disdain for the Goblin King.

"Thank you for joining us, Jareth."

There was no need for monarchs to call each other by titles, they were all equal under the High King, but it irked Jareth that they would be so familiar with him.

"I'm sorry for the delay, I trust my father told you that I was rather busy. My wife gave birth last night."

"Congratulations." One of Aelfric's brothers, Norn, said stiffly. "However, there are pressing matters to discuss. Juturna was killed under your protection, in your custody."

"Not my custody, the High King's. She was in these dungeons, not my own."

"How did you know she was being harmed? Rather convenient, is it not, that you were the only one who saw the attacker?" Another, Lorac, asked him bitterly.

"I saw him, and the guard did too." Jareth said imaptiently, talking deliberately slowly. Really, they were a bunch of fools. Their Kingdoms were so small he didn't really care what they thought, but collectively they held great power. They were a true dynasty; so many brothers, all Kings united by blood, provided a powerful alliance.

"The guard is dead." Norn told him, and Jareth shrugged.

"Then that is how the prisoner escaped. Honestly, are you suggesting I made the whole thing up?" Jareth asked, knowing that to accuse him would be a huge mistake for the Elves. They shook their heads frantically.

"No. We are merely trying to gain an understanding of how your sister was allowed to die so easily." Alre said irritably.

"To answer your earlier question, I knew she was in danger because she had attatched herself to my children in the womb. My wife went into early labour and I could sense Juturna. She was growing weaker, so I went to investigate where I found the attacker stabbing her in the side. I took her back to the Goblin City, managed to reverse her enchantments on my children. Then she died. My mother and my wife will testify to these events."

"Yet there is nobody to confirm what happened in the dungeon." Norn said, looking at his brothers. Jareth glared at them, his eyes dark and dangerous. Somewhere in the Goblin Kingdom, sunshine turned to thunder.

"You accuse me?" He asked with narrowed eyes, and one of the brothers, a timid thing called Jird, shook his head nervously - knowing exactly how perilous it was to anger the Goblin King.

"No, we're not saying that." Jird said, his voice timid. "We're merely say-" He was cut off by his elder brother Alre, who spat words out with fury.

"I am! I am tired of you Fae treating us like second class citizens. Your sister killed my brother, almost killed my nephew and now you are saying one of us ordered an assassin to kill her instead of seeing her be executed publicly?" Alre said furiously, and Jareth sighed in frustration.

"You are mistaken. I did not say that you ordered the attack, I merely said the assassin was an Elf. If you will not even listen to me, what is the point? I will show you what happened."

He put a hand to his head and summoned a crystal, drawing his hand away slowly. He let it float over to the group of Elves, and each one saw his memory.

"How do we know this is true?" One demanded. "You can show us whatever you want us to see. Fae have no concept of honesty."

"I do. Would I risk my life creating a false memory? Choosing not to believe me is stubbornness for stubbornness's sake. There is your assassin. He is your subject, well, one of your subject's anyway. Find him, punish him, but leave me out of it. I am finished with this subject. It is done."

"We demand justice!" Alre said, his voice growing high pitched and hysterical. "We have no way of even proving her crimes against you, as far as I can see you have found no proof of what those Elvish herbs were! How do we know you are not merely covering for the fact your wife had an affair with a human! You Fae are hardly known for your fidelity."

"Enough! Insult me all you like, but you dare talk about my wife like that? Wars have been started over less, let me assure you." Jareth said, his blood boiling at the second implication that Sarah had taken someone else into her bed. "My children have been damaged by dark magic, dark magic that I believe Aelfric had full knowledge of."

"There is no way of knowing that. My brother is careless to talk of your wife as such, there is no need to mention war." Lorac said firmly, looking at his brother with contempt.

"I am tired of constant accusations from you people. If war is what you want, then I am quite prepared for it."

"You are the only one speaking of war Jareth! We merely want justice for our brother's death!" Lorac said, trying to reason with the near hysterical Goblin King. Really, love had made him irrational and hasty, and that would be his downfall.

"She is dead! There is your justice." Jareth said firmly, and the brothers turned to one another and had a hushed discussion. The Goblin King tapped his foot impatiently, thinking of Sarah waiting for him to come back.

"We want her head, as agreed."

Jareth knew that his mother would be upset by this, but he had no choice but to agree. Juturna was a criminal after all, and they couldn't just have a normal funeral and pretend like nothing had happened.

"Fine. Are we finished? I have things to attend to."

"Yes. For now." Alre said, turning to walk out. The Elves had no magic, and relied on the Fae to transport them to the High Court. Jareth would let them walk home.

* * *

"Hello darlings."

By the time Jareth returned Above, it was the middle of the night. Sarah slept peacefully, and the babes were close beside her. Jareth saw in the dim light that Tomas was awake, his little eyes looking around in interest. Jareth picked him up and carried him over to the chair. Sitting down, he placed his finger against Tomas' tiny little palm. His son gripped him, the force surprising Jareth. Such a little thing, but such strength.

"When you're a grown up, I'll never judge you. You can love who you want, marry who you want, I will always be there for you. Your happiness is the most important thing."

The baby said nothing, and merely closed his eyes. Jareth smiled down at him, holding him against his chest tenderly. This was all that mattered; Jareth knew now why his parents had banged on about family for the past thousand years. Holding your own child was an experience unlike any other, and Jareth would go to the ends of the Earth to protect these two innocent babes, and any other children that came along.

"Hey love." Sarah mumbled sleepily, and he could hear her turning to face him. "How did it go?"

"As well as could be expected. I didn't mean to wake you precious, go back to sleep. I'm just holding my boy."

"Okay." Sarah said, and he could hear her yawning in the darkness. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course I know that. I love you too darling."

"I was thinking," she continued, her eyes closed. "If the babies have markings starting, maybe we should take them Underground for a little while. It might help."

"I don't know, darling. It might be a little much for them. Let's wait a month or so, see where we are. Rest now, we'll go home in the morning."

"Kay."

"I love you."

"Lov-" She was asleep before she could finish her sentence. Jareth sat in the chair all night, his baby son sleeping peacefully in his arms.

This was a kind of heaven that he wasn't sure he deserved.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this took a couple of days, I wasn't really sure where to go for it. About the names, Tomas was actually inspired by Major Tom, plus the fact it actually does mean Twin. I completely forgot The Man Who Fell To Earth was called Thomas, I only watched it last week..  
**

 **I've also started writing my next story, which will either be up before this one's finished or after, I haven't decided yet. It's a bit different to this one, and is loosely inspired by the Bowie film The Linguine Incident which is terrible and amazing all at the same time.**

 **Anyway, that's enough from me! Please review!**


	38. Sleep Deprivation

"Hello love." Jareth appeared in their living room, still in his Underground clothes. Sarah was sitting in front of him, quietly chewing on her thumbnail.

"Hey." Sarah said quietly, not looking at him.

"Is everything okay? I'm sorry I had to leave, I came back as fast as I could." He said, feeling guilty for leaving her, even if it was just for a few hours. She was perfectly capable, but she was so exhausted not being able to help her made him feel like a terrible husband.

"Yeah. Fine." She said dully, staring straight ahead. Her markings were exposed, and the sharp colours in them only served to highlight how purple the area under her eyes was.

She was exhausted - the twins had been up every night and asleep on and off throughout the day, a routine they had been unable to reverse no matter how hard they tried. That had lasted weeks, and they were hardly getting any sleep at all as a result. Every time they tried to sleep in the day to match the babies, one would wake up screaming and the whole thing would start again.

"Are they asleep?" He asked tentatively, as though merely asking the question would cause them to wake up, even though they were in a completely different room.

"Uhuh." Sarah nodded, the remote for the TV dangling in her hands. Jareth walked over to her and took it from her, lying her back on the sofa. She allowed him to move her with no protestations.

"Sarah, you need to go to bed." He told her gently, stroking her markings with a finger. She scowled at him; she had been in a bad mood all week, her exhaustion making her snap at him.

"You need to shut up." She said, and he frowned at her. "I'm sorry, I'm just so tired I can't think."

Both twins had been crying almost non stop for the last twelve hours, and she was exhausted. They had finally fallen asleep around two hours ago, and Sarah had just been sitting in a state of shock in her pajamas since then. Jareth had been Underground for most of it, allegedly attending an urgent meeting but Sarah thought he just wanted to escape.

"I'm just trying to help." Jareth said defensively, and she looked at him with tear filled eyes. "Oh love, it's alright."

"If you want to help, you can give me a hug. I feel like I've been in a war." She asked him thickly, and he knelt in front of her. She fell forward, expecting him to catch her, which he did. She sagged against him, inhaling his familiar scent to try and calm herself down.

He held her close to him, kissing her forehead. She wrapped his arms around his waist, clinging to him with force. He rocked her backwards and forwards to calm her down, and she tried not to sob against him.

"I know it's hard." He told her gently, and she nodded tearfully into his chest. "It will get easier, I promise."

"They just wouldn't stop screaming." She said into his chest. "Both of them. The health visitor came round earlier and said there's nothing wrong with them. They aren't hungry, they were clean, they could have slept if they wanted to, they don't have colic. They just screamed and screamed."

"Maybe you should sleep, darling. You don't look very well." Jareth urged her, and she shook her head. She hadn't slept properly for days, and it showed. Even though she didn't need as much sleep as she had done as a human, sleep deprecation coupled with the stress of dealing with two screaming babies weren't good for Fae either.

"What if they wake up again?" She asked fearfully, and Jareth shh'd her.

"I'll be on guard, alright?" He told her and she looked at him skeptically. "They are my children too, Sarah. I manage to run a whole Kingdom of goblins who can hardly look after poultry, I'm sure I can handle a couple of two month olds, right?"

"Promise you'll wake me up if they need feeding?" Sarah asked him. "Or if they won't settle, or if you think they look ill."

"There's some of your milk in the fridge isn't there?" He asked her, stroking her hair. "I'll be alright."

"Yeah but there might not be enough for both of them." She said in a panic. "So you should probably wake me if they need feeding, just in case."

"Sarah, just go to sleep. Did you try using magic to soothe them?" He asked, knowing that a little magic would send them into a peaceful sleep. Sarah didn't have much confidence when it came to the use of her powers, and he felt that she made life difficult for herself by not at least trying to use it.

"I was worried it might hurt them." She said anxiously, and Jareth frowned. This had been an ongoing problem in the two months since the babes were born.

Sarah had been surprisingly protective over the babies when it came to the use of magic; she refused to allow them to be transported the Fae way, and any gripes were cured using human medicine. It confused Jareth - she had gone from wanting to take them Underground to not allowing them any exposure to magic at all.

"Sarah, we need to try and use magic around them before they get much older. They're young and pliable, and we still don't know what damage Juturna actually did. I know you're scared, but it's the only way they have a chance. We have to try at least."

"I can't control my powers when I'm tired, what if I give them too much? What if your power is too strong for them and you hurt them?" She said, her voice small. Jareth was irritated by her implication that he would hurt his children, the most precious things in his life.

"I won't hurt them! Sarah, I may be powerful but I am also well trained. If you're tired, don't do it, but let me try at least." He begged her, and she shook her head.

"I don't know. It's not like it will give them their own magic back, they're mortal now and you said it doesn't work like that. We can't just funnel our own powers into them and make them Fae. They're damaged, Jareth. We need to accept it." She said, the word 'damaged' sticking in her throat.

"It sounds to me like you're giving up." He said, moving back from her a little. She looked up at him, noticing his arms moving from her. She grabbed his hands and put them back where they were, holding them in place.

"Not giving up. Moving on." She told him hesitantly.

"Sarah, they're our children. We're Fae, they should be Fae too. There has to be some way-" Sarah interrupted him before he could finish.

"No!" She said, in a near shout. "Just leave it Jareth. Please. They're mortal."

"Why are you acting like this? We agreed that we wouldn't give up." Jareth said exasperatedly, feeling like she was shying away too easily. He would go to any lengths to provide his children with magic, to let them be their full potential, and to hear that she wouldn't stung him.

"It's been two months. Two months and their markings are nothing more than scar tissue, they've shown no sign of any power at all. They are babies, and I am tired of watching them every minute of every day to see if anything has changed. I want to enjoy their youth, not worry about what will happen next." She said, a tear falling from her eye. She wiped it away angrily - she would not cry.

"We can!" Jareth protested. "We can still enjoy them without giving up on making things better for them."

"I can't, not whilst I'm constantly hoping they'll be something they're not. They're going to die whilst I'm still young, I couldn't protect them from that. I need to make the most of every second with them and treat them like normal babies."

"If that's what you want." He said, sitting down and rubbing his forehead. She looked at him sadly, and crawled onto his lap like she used to. He smiled, holding her close to him. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, kissing his neck. "It's hard to admit I was wrong. Especially about something like this."

"We'll love them just the same, that's all that matters." She said, looking at him warily - as if she believed he wouldn't.

"Of course. I'm sorry, this is just hard for me. When I pictured my children, I could never imagine them being anything other than exactly like me. It's an adjustment." Jareth told her, finding being so honest with his wife a little challenging.

"You'll be fine. You're the bravest man I know, baby. You can handle this. You're a great dad, you know. Watching you with them makes me feel all squidgy inside." She said, kissing his nose and running her fingers through the crown of his hair.

"I feel the same watching you with them. Squidgy might not be the best word, but warm and fuzzy, certainly." He said, stroking her hair softly. They hadn't had much time to just be them, the babies had taken up all of their time. Not that he regretted a second of it, but it was nice to just be with his wife for a moment.

"I'm happy though. With our life. At least when they're not screaming in my face all day. Are you happy?" Sarah asked hesitantly, looking into his eyes. He smiled, and kissed her briefly on the mouth.

"Of course I'm happy. They've brought me more joy than I thought possible."

"Me too. I feel like I'm in complete baby mode, my brain hasn't quite recovered. You must be sick of me." She said, conscious of the fact she hadn't showered for a couple of days and her hair resembled a birds nest.

"No darling, never sick of you. You could stay in baby mode until they're in college and I would still love you just the same." He told her sincerely, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"I guess we'll have a couple more, won't we?" She said dreamily, and Jareth raised an eyebrow.

"You're thinking about more babies already?"

"Maybe. Not for a while, but I'd definitely like more, wouldn't you?"

"A whole brood. It would be marvelous. But there's no rush darling. Let's try and get these two to sleep for more than three hours in a row, then we can think of more children. Plus I'm so exhausted I'm not sure I could perform the necessary act right now anyway."

"I know." Sarah said, thinking of all the years stretched out in front of them. She shut her eyes and snuggled into him, and he watched her in amusement. Her body relaxed and her breathing began to even out, and Jareth knew she was falling asleep. He shook her lightly, and she grumbled.

"Darling, you need to go to bed." He told her softly, and she shook her head sleepily.

"Huh? No, I'm comfy here." She murmured, bringing a hand up to stroke his jaw tenderly. His stubble grated against her fingers, and she smiled at the sensation.

"I'd love nothing more than to let you sleep on me, but I'd like to go and check on the twins, then I have some work to do up here. I want you to have a proper rest, so just let me be in charge, all right?"

"Okay." She sighed, rolling off of him and standing up. "If there are any problems at all, you'll wake me?"

"Yes, but there won't be any problems. I want you to rest, precious. You're being too hard on yourself." He told her firmly. "You deserve a rest."

"Alright. I love you, baby."

"I love you too sweet thing, now go to sleep!" He commanded her, and she rolled his eyes at his bossiness.

"Okay. Okay, I'll go to sleep." She vanished, and Jareth followed her after a few seconds to make sure she'd actually gone to bed. Sure enough, she was lying on their bed, passed out already. He took himself to the children's nursery.

Both babies were sleeping soundly, making adorable little snuffly noises. He sat in the rocking chair they kept in the room, and watched them through the bars of their cots silently. They were such sweet little things, even if they did have cries louder than a siren.

Tomas was huge, even the health visitor had commented that he was the biggest two month old she had ever seen. Hermione was still dainty and bird like, though she was filling out a little now. They were bizarrely in sync; always wanting everything at exactly the same time. Apparently, according to Arethusa, he and Juturna had been exactly the same as babes. He was trying to avoid any comparison between his children and him and his sister.

Family life had been blissful, if a little hectic, for the past two months. They had stayed Above, and Sarah hadn't been Underground since the birth. She didn't want to leave the babies with anyone, not even her mother. There was no real need for her to leave Above, so Jareth had been going backwards and forwards without her.

Arethusa had visited a few times, but there had been no sign of Hefeyd. Jareth had not told Sarah of his accusations about the twins' parentage, and he had no intention of doing so.

His relationship with his father was tense, and they barely spoke to one another unless it was a matter of urgency. The Elves had gone back to their Kingdoms and kept their mouths shut, realizing how delicate the situation with the Goblin King was. His magic was so powerful he could crush them with a wave of his hand if he so desired, but Jareth had more sense of fair play than that.

* * *

The babies slept on for a few more hours, and Jareth was unsure whether or not he should wake them - if they were sleeping so soundly in the day, they had no chance at all of getting a solid sleep at night.

He conjured his desk into their nursery so he could stay with them, keeping his promise to Sarah to watch them closely. He was going through the day's paperwork, when he came across a summons that made him clench his fist.

 _Jareth the Goblin King is summoned to the Western Elvish Kingdom to justify his imprisonment of the Elf Yeg. There is no evidence to justify the continued-_

Jareth didn't bother reading any further, and screwed up the piece of paper. There was plenty of evidence that allowed him to lock that Elf up. He glanced at his children, knowing that the reason they weren't Underground right now was that bastard Elf and his potions.

He scrawled a hasty reply, his anger making his handwriting ineligible and spiky.

 _I refuse. Yeg is my prisoner and has openly admitted to poisoning Sarah, Queen of the Goblins, and altering the magical abilities of Prince Tomas and Princess Hermione as previously discussed with you at our summit two months ago. These crimes were committed within my Kingdom, therefore he is mine to do with as I see fit. I will not tolerate any further suggestion that I have lied about this. To do this is to question me, and to question me is to question the High Family. Tread carefully._

He added his signature at the bottom, and waved a hand and the document was gone. Honestly, these Elves were stirring trouble for no reason. Yeg hadn't lived in the Elf territories for hundreds of years, and suddenly they were showing a great deal of concern about him. Jareth was suspicious - he was sure the Elvish royal brothers were hiding something. He just couldn't work out what.

* * *

"He has replied, your Highness." An elderly Elf, a councillor to the King Lorac, said. He read the letter from the Goblin King. "He will not come."

"Damn him. I tire of this, we need to end it quickly. It should have ended years ago, Juturna was too weak to see it through. Then she betrayed us."

"Do not say her name." Alre raged, walking in to his brother's throne room accompanied by Norn. "Is Jareth coming?"

"No. He will not release the medic either." Lorac told his brother irritably, taking the letter from his advisor and shooing him from the room. When they were alone, Alre began to speak again.

"We do not care about him. If he was going to talk, he would have done so months ago, I have no doubt that Jareth has been torturing him. If we're going to kill him, we should just do it. Juturna's idea was needlessly long and elaborate, the Fae way. It is time to do things like Elves, brothers." Alre said; he was the most vocal with his anger, the most bitter about the death of Aelfric.

"Fine. The High King will be furious, we need to make it look like we had no part of this." Lorac said firmly, drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair.

"That will be easy enough. Word has it, the High King and his son are not as close as they used to be. Perhaps that will work in our favour." Norn said thoughtfully.

"And remember, we kill him and his son. Leave the women to mourn, it will be amusing." Lorac said with a cold laugh.

"I just wish I could kill the smug bastard myself." Alre said, his fists curled. "He wouldn't be so superior then."

"Death cuts everyone down to size. Even the Goblin King."

* * *

 **A/N: Bum bum buuuum..Please review!  
**


	39. Get Me Out Of Here

It was seven in the morning, and bright spring sunlight flooded into the twins' nursery. It was almost summer, and the days were getting longer and brighter. It didn't exactly help with two twins who refused to sleep, but it made things a little more bearable. Sarah sat in the rocking chair, still in her pajamas, cradling Hermione. Jareth stood at the door, watching her with a smile on his face. He was dressed for a day at court, leaving early so he could come home sooner.

"I'll be back this afternoon, alright? Are you sure you're going to be okay with them? Maybe you should ask your mother to come over, another pair of hands.." He suggested, thinking of how much Sarah had struggled the previous day. She shook her head, her eyes fixed on the babe in her arms.

"Jareth, I'm fine. I'm feeling better now, and so are they by the looks of things." She offered her pinky finger to Hermione, who took it in her tiny fist and immediately shoved it in her gummy little mouth. Sarah smiled down at her daughter; her hair was dark brown, her eyes bright blue. She was the most beautiful sight Sarah had seen - save for Tomas, of course. The other baby was still fast asleep, and she was relishing a brief moment of peace.

"Something isn't right. I can sense it." He said, checking the protection spells on the house for the thousandth time that morning. Everything was as it should be, no weaknesses at all. Something just felt off; perhaps he was just tired.

"I can't sense anything." Sarah said with a frown, trying to wrench her drool covered finger from Hermione's grasp. "Baby, you're panicking. Just go and do your thing, we'll be fine. We'll be right here waiting for you to come home. Won't we sweetie?"

"Alright. Could you stay in the house today?" He asked, and Sarah frowned.

"I need to take them to be weighed this morning, I told you. Jareth, it will be fine! There's nothing to worry about, I don't know where this is coming from. Did you sleep at all last night?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She had slept the whole night through, something she was sure was because of Jareth's magical interference.

"No. But you did, and that's what matters. You're feeling better, yes?" He asked her, noticing how the bags under eyes had vanished. Her magic would keep her fit and healthy, but it needed sleep to allow replenishment and rejuvenation to take place.

"Yes, but I'd really appreciate if you didn't drug me." She said, shifting the baby to her other arm. "I slept for like sixteen hours or something, that can't be right."

"I didn't drug you darling. I put a silencing spell on our room; your deep sleep was all down to you, I just made sure you weren't disturbed." He explained, kneeling beside his wife and running a finger down his daughter's chubby cheek. "Trust me, you should be thankful for it. I felt as though my head would explode last night."

"Oh. Thanks. Were they awake all night?" She asked, looking down at the tiny baby in her arms. For something so small, she could certainly cause chaos.

"All night. And now they're acting like little angels for their mummy when they were quite the opposite for daddy last night. Weren't you, princess?" He asked his baby daughter, touching her nose lightly. He kissed Sarah gently, keeping his face close to hers for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you. She does too, don't you little one?" Sarah cooed down at her daughter, who kicked her legs enthusiastically.

"Mmm, it certainly didn't feel like it when she was sick all down my back at 2am." Jareth said, stroking his daughter's dark hair fondly.

"Gross." Sarah said, her nose screwing up in distaste.

"Indeed. Right, enough stalling. I'll be back this afternoon." He leaned over Hermione to kiss Sarah goodbye, his amulet swinging out of his shirt. The baby grabbed it enthusiastically, yanking it surprisingly hard. The metal of the chain was infused with magic and unbreakable, but Jareth winced as it caught on the hair at the nape of his neck. "Hermione precious, would you mind terribly not strangling Daddy?"

Sarah pried the amulet out of the baby's hand. When her fingers brushed the engraved crest in the middle, she felt a shock as though she'd stuck her finger in an electrical socket. She touched it all the time accidentally, and had never noticed that before. She stared down at her hand, trying to work out the cause of it. When she looked up, Jareth was gone.

"Well, that was weird." Sarah said to the baby, who blinked up at her in agreement. "Oh well. I hope your brother wakes up soon." For all she moaned about them crying all the time, when the babies were asleep she missed them. Tomas was normally awake by now, and she liked to have early morning cuddles with both babies.

As if on cue, Tomas started crying. Sarah laughed, and placed Hermione in her crib. She moved to Tomas, and lifted him up. He stilled in her arms, his cries turning weak. She swore he smiled at her, but it was probably just gas or something.

"Hello baby. Good morning! You sure were tired." The baby gurgled at her, his fat little arms waving happily. She lifted him up under his arms so they were face to face. She placed a kiss on the end of his nose. When she lowered him back down, his hand caught on her necklace, grabbing the pendant and tugging it firmly.

"What is it with you two today? Grabbing at Mommy and Daddy's amulets all the time. Just so long as you don't pull Daddy's hair, he'll go nuts." She teased him. "Let's get you dressed, handsome."

* * *

Sarah left the house at 9am, having managed to get the twins ready, and herself showered and dressed, in the record time of two hours. Tomas lay in the pram that was meant to fit both of them side by side, but he was so huge for a two month old that he took up all the space. She settled by having Hermione in a sling, strapped to her chest.

It was a short walk to the doctor's surgery where they had the baby clinic, and it was such a beautiful day that Sarah was thankful for the walk. It gave her a chance to clear her head, and give the babies some fresh air. Of course, if she had really wanted she could have been there in two seconds flat, but she would never risk transporting the babies using magic. She wouldn't even let Jareth do it.

After having the babies weighed (and being told that Tomas was enormous, yet again) she walked home slowly, enjoying the sunshine. She took the twins to the local park, thinking it would be nice to sit on a bench and listen to the birds chirping, rather than watching yet more terrible daytime TV.

As she walked down the street, she felt concious of eyes watching her. She turned around quickly, but there was nobody behind her, just an empty street. When she turned back, rolling her eyes at her paranoia, she looked down in the pram to talk to Tomas, as she always did.

He wasn't there.

She threw the blankets from the pram, as if expecting to find him hiding beneath them. The pram was empty, hideously empty, and her mouth went dry with panic. Her heart raced, and she wasn't sure what to do. He had been right there two seconds ago, her back had been turned for a split second. There was nobody on the street, no cars or people walking past. Nobody at all.

"Jareth! Jareth, I need you." She said, trying not to scream. He would know what to do, he would know how to find their son.

Mercifully, he appeared in front of her instantly, looking confused. He hadn't bothered with his glamour, not realising Sarah would be in a mortal street. The panic in her voice had meant that he'd rushed to her side, having no time to make sure the coast was clear.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked fearfully, seeing Sarah's terrified expression. She cleared her throat, trying to find the words to explain what had happened.

"Tomas is gone." She whispered, and Jareth's face dropped in shock.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"He was in his pram two seconds ago, I turned around to look behind me, when I turned back..when I turned back, he was gone." Sarah explained, her breathing fast. Jareth looked down at the empty pram in shock, his hands trembling.

"Why did you turn around?" He asked blankly, still staring at the space where Tomas should have been. "What made you turn around?"

"I'm sorry alright I shouldn't have taken my-"

"No, no I'm not blaming you darling. Why did you turn around?" He asked her quickly, while trying to sense if there had been any Fae in the area. Such a quick getaway would be unlikely for a human. There was something in the air, a dark force. Not magic, as such, but there had been an Underground citizen here, he could tell.

"I thought someone was following us." She said. Her body was trembling, and she was clutching Hermione to her chest tightly. "There weren't any cars or people here, where's he gone? It's like he's vanished."

"Someone has taken him. We need to go Underground, we need to find him." Jareth said urgently. Sarah had feared as much.

"Underground? You're sure? He'll die there without magic!" She said tearfully, thinking of her sweet baby boy in the arms of some unknown stranger.

"Nobody is going to die!" Jareth said firmly, trying to stay calm. "I'll find him if I have to tear every Kingdom apart."

He had a feeling he knew exactly which kingdom Tomas would be in. There was only one group of people who had a problem with him, and they had made themselves well known. If they wanted to play dirty, he would destroy them.

* * *

"Mother! Where is Father?" Jareth stormed into the High Throne Room, Sarah trailing desperately behind him.

"He's not here." Arethusa said, looking puzzled. She frowned, and gasped as the emotions of her son and his wife hit her like a wave crashing to shore. "What in heavens is wrong?"

"Tomas has been taken from us." Jareth told her, as Sarah sobbed. He drew her to him, holding her tightly. He couldn't offer her much comfort, but he would be her support through anything.

"What?" Arethusa asked, her voice weak. "Taken? You're sure?"

"Someone has stolen him. I need Father, he needs to help me find him."

"He's gone to the Distant Lands, I have no idea when he will return."

Jareth conjured a crystal then made it vanish instantly.

"He will return quickly now, I hope. I need to go to my Kingdom. Please protect Sarah and Hermione."

"Of course." Arethusa stood by Sarah's side, trying to move her. She clung to Jareth, not wanting to let him go. Letting him go would mean that he would leave to find Tomas, and if he failed, that would mean her son was truly lost to her.

Jareth pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead, and one to the top of Hermione's head. He looked at them for a moment, as if trying to remember every detail of their faces. Then, he vanished.

"Come child, let's find you and the babe somewhere to rest." Arethusa tried to lead her away, but Sarah stood rooted to the spot. Hermione woke up and began to wail, and Sarah tried in vain to shush her.

"No, I need to find him." She said adamantly, jiggling the screaming baby in her arms. "I can't rest, I need my baby."

"Jareth will find him, sweet girl." Arethusa tried to calm her, knowing that nothing could truly calm a mother separated from her child like this.

"Hermione will die here, we can't stay Underground." Sarah said frantically. Arethusa used her powers to calm her, and Sarah sagged to the floor in defeat. Hermione was still strapped to her chest, sleeping peacefully.

"Jareth has commanded you to stay here, he is your husband and you must do as he asks. He would never put either of you in danger, you must trust him."

"I shouldn't have taken my eyes off him." She said, taking the sling off and removing Hermione from it. She cradled her baby in her arms, staring straight ahead. "If I hadn't looked behind me, he would still be here."

"They wanted the babe, child. Who knows what they would have done to get him? None of this is your fault. Jareth is exceptionally powerful, and we are bound to our children with ancient and indescribable magic."

"Tomas has no magic!" Sarah shouted, and Hermione screamed in her arms. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry, Mommy didn't mean to scare you."

"Jareth will find him. His father will return soon, and he will aid the search."

"What if it's too late?" Sarah asked, trying to calm the wailing child in her arms. "What if it's too late to save him?"

* * *

Jareth took himself straight to his throne room. He needed a moment to plan; everything had happened so fast that he couldn't think straight. Tomas was gone. He had sensed a dark presence, one that had no magic. Was that enough to accuse the Elves? If he accused them with no evidence and it turned out it wasn't them, there could be war.

He closed his eyes and thought of Tomas, conjuring a crystal to try and see him. He opened his eyes, not expecting to see anything at all. To his disbelief - and indescribable relief - he could see his infant son. He was smiling, looking as though nothing at all was wrong. The crystal shifted - and there was the familiar face of Yeg.

"Hello, your majesty. We have your son, and he is quite well. For now. Come to the Western Elf court, and come alone. If you inform anyone of this, the child will die."

The crystal went dark, and Jareth threw it against the wall in frustration. It smashed into hundreds of tiny pieces, and he screamed in anger.

How had Yeg escaped? The man knew too much to be in the hands of the Elves, and Jareth wondered how the magicless Elves had managed to interfere with his crystals. Who knew what Juturna had given them in her years as Queen? Perhaps they even possessed some of her magic. At this point, the rules of magic seemed to have faded away - nothing was as it should have been.

This was a trap, the most obvious trap he had ever seen. They wanted him dead, he knew that - they wanted Alaric on the throne as revenge for the damage the Fae had done to the Elvish lands, and they wanted control of the Goblin Kingdom. They had his son, and Jareth wondered if they would kill him too.

Trap or not, he had to go. He couldn't leave Tomas there alone, and he couldn't tell Sarah what was happening without risking Tomas' life. It was up to him. He made sure he was armed; a sword by his side and two daggers - one strapped to his thigh, the other hidden in his jacket. He doubted he would have much of a chance to use them - if the Elves were as wise as they were supposed to be, they would kill him quickly. He would have to be clever.

* * *

"Jareth, how kind of you to join us." Lorac drawled, holding a bawling Tomas on his lap. The baby's cries didn't sound any different to normal, but Jareth felt fear strike him. The room was blocked to magic, and all of Aelfric's brothers stood there watching him - twisted smiles on all of their faces.

"Give me the child." He commanded, his fists balled by his side. "This is a ridiculous game and it ends now!"

"Oh, the child, the child. You are so interested in your powerless, mortal child. Odd looking thing, isn't he?" Lorac said, looking down at the chubby little baby who had turned red from screaming.

"Look who's talking, pointy ears." Jareth spat in irritation. "I did not come here to discuss my son's appearance. You dare take my child from my Queen?"

"He was not Underground, you were not there. There was no protection over him." Lorac said easily, and he passed the baby to someone in the shadows.

"There was! There were hundreds of protective spells placed over them." Jareth protested, and he willed the baby to come to him. His spell wouldn't work, and his fingers bit into his palm as he tried not to scream in frustration.

"They didn't work." Yeg shrugged, coming forward. He was holding the child in his arms, and Jareth moved forward. He was held back by something. "There is no point trying to use magic here. Juturna's blocks still stand, she replenished them before she died in anticipation of this day."

"Clever." Jareth said through gritted teeth. He wondered if he could undo them as easily as he always had done, but he could not risk angering these idiots whilst Tomas was in their hands. Who knew what the Elves could have done to him; their knowledge of herbs and poisons was one that Jareth would not underestimate. "How did you get out?"

"I was freed by the High King." Yeg said, his weathered face twisted in a smug smile. Tomas screamed even louder before, and Jareth wondered what was wrong with him. He could be dying right now, and Jareth would have no way of knowing.

"What?" Jareth asked in anger. "He had no right to let you out!"

"We demanded he be freed. After all, who better to take the child than the one who rendered him mortal in the first place?" Lorac said gleefully. Jareth wondered why they were so openly taunting him instead of just killing him; really, people wasted too much time arrogantly explaining everything before making their move. Juturna had done the same thing.

"It was you." Jareth said to Yeg, who nodded. "You followed Sarah, you took the babe!"

"Yes, I did. I was waiting all night for a chance, and there she was in the middle of the street, right over a drain. The perfect gateway to the Underground. We may not have magic, but those herbs I gave her when she was first pregnant had another use - they broke down protection spells, she is immune to them. How did you not notice?" Yeg asked, looking thrilled to finally have his plan come together.

"They were all there!" Jareth shouted. "I checked them every day."

"Curious, Juturna must have been more powerful than we believed." Lorac laughed at the Goblin King's fury. "Her spells really have stood the test of time. It will make it easier to kill Sarah, and your snivelling brats."

"Why did you bring me here? You want me dead, just kill me. Take Tomas back to Sarah. He is not my heir, the High King will not acknowledge him. He is a mortal child and we do not involve Above in our politics!" Jareth said. "If you kill a mortal, you will be executed. If you kill me, my Father will destroy you."

"We have the child because it is fun to watch you beg." Lorac told him, taking the child from Yeg. Tomas let out a loud, wailing cry, the pitch so loud that even Jareth winced. "You would give your life for this bawling infant."

"I would give my life for him, but today is not the day I die." Jareth said firmly, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. The Elves were a studious race, and lacked the battle skills the Fae had. The Kings distanced themselves from him, knowing that if he got close to them with a sword, they would be finished. "If you really are going to kill me, tell me why you've done this."

"We want justice. Juturna was going to give us the throne, to make the Elves great again. She betrayed us, she killed our brother and she almost killed the only claim we had to the throne. Her way didn't work, but her powers were useful." Lorac said dismissively. "Honestly, seeing you die is something I've wanted to see for the past thousand years. Perhaps, if you let us kill you, we can come to some arrangement about the boy. We will send him back Above. Not to Sarah, but we will let him live."

"You swear you will let him live? And Sarah and Hermione too. I will have your unbreakable word, or there is no deal." Jareth said shakily, wondering how things had turned this sour this quickly. Tomas couldn't stay Underground much longer or he would grow weak and die. Elves possessed no magic, but their part of the Underground was just as powerful as the High Court to a mortal.

"You have my word." Lorac said sincerely, and made the time honoured symbol that made an oath sacred. Although they had no magic as such, words still had power.

"Let me hold my son before I die." Jareth commanded. "You will have what you want, give me one last moment with my boy."

Lorac eyed him suspiciously. He passed him the baby, and Jareth looked at his son. The crying stopped. He looked up at him with confused eyes. Jareth tried to break the blocks down, knowing now was his only chance to escape. They stayed firmly in place, and he knew he was done for.

"I'm sorry son." He whispered quietly, hoping the Elves wouldn't hear him. He felt lost,knowing there was no way out and that his son was in grave danger. He would die if it gave his son a chance to live. He pressed the baby to him and resting his cheek on top of the baby's head. Tomas grabbed at his amulet, pulling it down. He smiled despite himself, and tried to pry the pendant from his son's fingers. "Daddy loves you, Tomas. If I'm not around in the future, just remember I love you. Look after Mummy, I know she'll find a way to get to you."

The baby grabbed the amulet again, and Jareth sighed sadly. He took it off from around his neck, and placed it over Tomas' head. He wouldn't be needing it anymore. Maybe it would offer his son some protection, maybe it would just be something for Tomas to remember him by.

He turned to Lorac.

"The High King won't stand for this." Jareth said firmly. This plan made such little sense, it was almost as though they were on a suicide mission. The Elves had descended into madness, their revolt poorly planned and feckless. He would see them in Hell as soon as Hefeyd killed them all.

"Which is why we have another plan. We always have a plan."

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me the plan."

"No, surprisingly not. This is getting boring. Kill him." Lorac commanded Yeg, who lunged forward with a dagger. Jareth drew his sword, and with one swing, cut him down. He was dead before he hit the floor.

"Honestly, you couldn't think of someone better to execute me?" Jareth said, almost looking bored.

From nowhere, Jareth felt the brutal stab of a long sword straight through his back. This wasn't like the last time - no messing around and stabbing him through the kidneys. This thrust went directly through his heart. He fell down silently, the only noise a hollow crack as his head hit the floor.

The Goblin King was dead.


	40. The Other Side

**A/N: Sorry for posting the wrong chapter, had a few technical issues (ie me being an idiot who didn't look at what she was posting).**

* * *

Jareth opened his eyes slowly, aware of a bright white light all around him. It was blinding, and he brought his hand up to shield his eyes. In the distance, he could see a figure walking towards him. As it drew nearer, he could see a very familiar face. He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Hello, brother."

"Juturna? You're dead." He said, turning away from her. She moved with him, and looked at him with that same smug smile she'd had for the past thousand years.

"As sharp as ever, Jareth. This is the afterlife; I think you'll find that _you_ are dead too." She said mockingly, and Jareth frowned.

"Oh. Shit."

"Quite." Juturna said. She looked as she had done as Queen; well groomed, her skin glowing, her hair shining and piled on top of her head. The sallowness and anger that had clouded her face in life had gone. Jareth hoped he looked similarly good in death. There was no justice at all if Juturna looked better than him. "We are even here. No more rivalries, no more jealousy."

"Excuse me if I don't quite believe that." Jareth said bitterly. "You're the reason I'm dead."

"Perhaps." Juturna said uncomfortably, and Jareth looked at her incredulously.

"Perhaps? It was thanks to your blocking spells that I could not escape, thanks to your meddling that my children have no magic, thanks to your scaremongering that all the Elves despise me." Jareth told her firmly, thinking of all the things he could possibly blame her for.

"I had no part in that, brother. You made them despise you all by yourself." Juturna said, a small smile playing on her lips. She was calmer here, and Jareth wondered if this was his imagination.

"They were part of your plot, weren't they? It was to be a full scale Elvish rebellion." Jareth said. "You would start with my Kingdom, and then what? Go for Father?"

"Yes, that was the plan, at first. Then I grew tired of them. I planned to kill them all, but things rather escalated before I had the chance." Juturna shrugged.

"Pity. I almost wish they'd let you live a little longer." Jareth said with a laugh. He felt light here, as though nothing mattered. "So, I'm really dead? I get to spend eternity with you?"

"You are _really_ dead, brother. Eternity, on the other hand? Perhaps not. You know, when you tried to save my life I had a sudden moment of clarity. Repentance, even." She said softly, looking him in the eyes. She went to clutch his hand, and he let her. Perhaps death had made him more tolerant. "I hated you in life, but here none of that seems to matter. Perhaps my jealousy was a sickness, a madness. It has been healed here."

"Hoorah for you." Jareth replied dismally. "It doesn't change anything though, does it? I'm dead, you're dead."

"Do you remember all the power I stole?" Juturna asked softly, looking down at her feet. Jareth laughed coldly.

"Yes, I think I'm familiar."

"I did something with it, in that last fleeting moment I had access to it. Your children were exceptionally powerful - their power combined was almost as strong as yours. I had no real control over it, but if I had - I cannot even imagine." She said, and Jareth felt himself grow angry. He didn't need to hear how powerful his children would have been.

"What did you do?" He asked, his voice hard and impatient. "I know we have forever stuck together, but if you could get to the point it would be most appreciated."

"I gave it back to you." Juturna said, her brow creasing. "I thought you would have worked that out. Did you not see your amulet glow as I died?"

Jareth tried to think, but he hadn't noticed anything at all with his amulet. He had placed it on her chest to try and heal her, but it hadn't worked, and he had turned away when she was dying. When he had placed the amulet back over his head, there was nothing unusual about it.

"To me? Why did you give it to me?" He asked in anger. "You should have given it to _them_."

"I could have used it to keep myself alive, but I didn't." She said snappily. "I gave it to you for a reason. To keep it safe, until the right moment."

"What right moment? What are you talking about?" Jareth said irritably; really, it wasn't enough that he was dead, he had to put up with Juturna's cryptic riddles too.

"I must go." Juturna said, fading away slowly. "The moment is here."

"Juturna, wait! Don't leave me!"

"It is you who is leaving, brother. Enjoy the moment." Juturna's voice echoed around him, and he couldn't see anything.

"What moment?! What are you talking about?" He called out into the darkness, but there was no reply.

* * *

"Where is the High King?" Sarah asked, as Hermione's cries intensified. She had tried feeding her, changing her, burping her, but nothing would sooth her anguish. She was red, her tiny fists balled up in rage. "Ssh, baby, I know, I know."

"I don't know." Arethusa said, wringing her hands together in worry. "I can't feel Jareth, can you? He should have returned by now."

"No. I can't." Sarah said, trying not to dwell on that. She was tempted to say the words, but if Jareth didn't have Tomas with him, that could ruin everything. She would have to go to him. "How are we going to find where they are if we can't feel him? Has he told you or his father about any problems? He doesn't talk to me about politics, not since I had the babies."

"I know there have been problems with the Elves. If it was them, they are spread out over so much land that I wouldn't know which court to go to." Arethusa fretted, pacing up and down.

"Then we'll go to them all! Arethusa we need to try, we can't just sit back and do nothing!" Sarah protested, bouncing up and down to try and calm Hermione. She felt like crying too, but she couldn't. Tomas needed her to keep a clear head.

"Jareth said to wait here. If we leave here, we are putting ourselves in huge danger. I have no powers of note really, I certainly have no protective powers, and you are far too emotional to control your magic. We would have no way of protecting ourselves. Would you want to leave her, to put her at risk?" Arethusa asked, looking at the baby. Sarah shook her head firmly. "I can't calm her, my powers are useless on her."

"Something's wrong, I know it. Hermione, please darling, please calm down." Sarah said hopelessly. She watched as her daughter screamed more. Then, to her abject horror, blood began to trickle from above her eyes. Sarah yelled out, and tried to wipe the blood away. Then, she realized what was happening. "Her markings! Arethusa, she has markings!"

It was just as it had been all those months ago when Sarah's own markings had started to grow; raw, angry looking flesh. The thick scar tissue had vanished, and Sarah wanted to sob with relief. Her magic was growing, and Sarah could feel a new energy coming from her.

"Arethusa, you can sense your family, can't you?" Sarah asked urgently, and Arethusa nodded apprehensively. She was hiding something.

"I can, but Jareth is usually the most prominent, and I can't feel him at all." She told Sarah, still twisting her fingers together.

"Can you feel Tomas?" Sarah probed her, wondering why she was behaving so oddly. "Arethusa, please!"

"I can feel something." Arethusa admitted finally. "I can't get a grip on it."

"Try. Hold Hermione, they are twins. They must have a bond, just like Jareth and Juturna had." Sarah said rapidly, trying to think of anything that might bring her baby back. If they had to wait much longer, Sarah would have to say the words to bring Jareth home safe, with or without their son.

"There is something." Arethusa said hesitantly. "I don't understand."

"What? Why?" Sarah asked, frowning. "What can't you understand?"

"I can sense Juturna, and Jareth. Both of them together." Arethusa said silently, looking down at the little baby in her arms.

"What?" Sarah frowned.

"Juturna and Jareth, both of them. There's something else there too, but it's as though Juturna is alive again."

"Can you place it? Can we travel there?"

"We can try. Leave Hermione here, she'll be safe in the nursery with Alaric." Arethusa said, moving to take the babe from Sarah's arms. Sarah moved away sharply, cradling the baby protectively.

"No, no I won't leave her." She picked up the discarded sling and placed the baby in it, strapping her to her chest. "We need to go."

"What is going on here?" A male voice boomed, and Sarah turned around in fear. It was Hefeyd, looking at her in irritation. "Why is the child Underground? Where is Jareth?"

"He's in danger. Tomas has been kidnapped." Arethusa told her husband, and Sarah tapped her foot impatinetly. Arethusa was just wasting time.

"Kidnapped? By whom?" The High King asked in confusion, and Sarah growled in frustration. This was all taking too long.

"I don't know!" Sarah said in anguish, irritated by her father in law acting as though this didn't matter. "I can't sense Jareth, you have to help. You must know where he is, you're the High King. Who would kidnap Jareth's son?"

"Any number of people."

"Is there anyone he's annoyed lately?" Sarah asked. "Think!"

"The Elves." Hefeyd said. "It would be the Elvish brothers, retaliation for Aelfric."

"What? You know it was the Elves?" Sarah asked, relieved that her idea had not been wrong.

"They asked me to free a prisoner this morning." He said slowly. "I agreed to it, under strict terms."

"Who?" Sarah asked urgently. Hefeyd hesitated for a moment before answering her.

"Yeg."

"Yeg?! You freed Yeg?!" Sarah asked in fury. "He tried to kill me, he was Juturna's spy! He was Jareth's prisoner, not yours to free!"

"I refused to free him, I merely returned him to their custody. They signed an oath that they would keep him imprisoned." He explained, his brow creasing as he realized his mistake.

"And you believed them? You believed the Elves that have been causing Jareth trouble for weeks?" Arethusa asked. "Are you an idiot, Hefeyd? I suppose you wouldn't know Jareth's political situation, considering you can hardly bare to look at him."

The High King looked at her in anger, and she shrugged. She had tired of her husband's rule over her; she rarely questioned him, but his niave trust in the Elves could have costed their son, and grandson's, life.

"Look at the babe, Hefeyd. Touch her. Her powers have come." Arethusa told him impatiently.

The High King placed a hand on Hermione's head, and withdrew it immediately.

"Her powers are strong." He said skeptically. "How has this happened so suddenly?"

"I don't know." Arethusa said, running a finger over Hermione's markings. "I cannot understand it."

"There must be a threat." Sarah said, realization dawning on her. "My markings came in so quickly because of Juturna."

"They have no magic, or at least they had none until now. A threat wouldn't affect them. Something has happened, something has given them magic." Hefeyd said.

Sarah shrugged in confusion; why were they all standing around talking about the particulars, when somewhere Jareth and her son were in danger?!

"Arethusa, touch her." The High King demanded his wife, and she shook her head.

"She's too young." The act of going into someone's mind was draining for both parties, and Hermione was so small - Arethusa had no idea what the consequences of such intrusion would be.

"Touch her!" He commanded in a sharp voice, and Arethusa rushed forward and did as she was told. She could hear the desperation in her husband's voice, the pleading.

Arethusa shut her eyes, a finger on each of Hermione's tiny temples. She took a deep breath, and entered her mind. Sarah watched anxiously as the High Queen probed her daughter's mind.

"Remarkable."

"What?"

"The twins are connected in a way I didn't think possible. They can communicate with one another using only thought." Arethusa's voice was weak, as though there was something she was trying to keep in.

"Telepathically?" Sarah frowned. "Can she see Tomas? Is he alive?"

"Tomas is alive." Arethusa said. "She cannot see him, but she can feel him. He is the other half of her soul, she would know if he were dead."

"And Jareth?"

"We need to get to him. We need to get there now. Hef, take us to the most powerful brother's court, you must know who that is." Arethusa said, no longer willing to waste any time.

"I will go first, you will follow." He told his wife sternly, and she nodded. He looked at her carefully. "I will protect them, Thusa. You know that."

"I know. Just go!"

* * *

Hefeyd broke through Juturna's defences with ease, entering the room and finding Lorac about to plunge a knife through Tomas' chest. With one wave of his hand, the Elvish king was thrown backwards, landing heavily against a wall. The High King looked around and saw each Elf King try to get away. One by one, they joined their brother in a broken heap.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Hefeyd roared in fury. "Did you think you would get away with stealing the grandson of the High King?"

None of the Elves said anything; perhaps their stupidity had dawned on them. This was often the way with rebellions; they made grand gestures, but had no real logic to back them up. With a wave of his hand, the Elves all vanished, sent to the dungeons at the High Castle.

"No!" Sarah screamed, arriving in the room with Hermione still strapped to her chest and Arethusa by her side. Hefeyd turned to see what had her so upset, and turned grey when he saw the lifeless body of his only son in the corner. Sarah ran to Jareth, falling to her knees by his side. She felt sick at the sight of a huge wound on his back, knowing that such a high hit would likely be through his heart. She turned him over, wanting to see his face.

It looked as though he was sleeping. His eyes were closed, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. There was no sign of life, no rise and fall of his chest. He was dead. He had died protecting Tomas. She wondered if he had thought of her, if he had been worried about leaving them. If he had been scared.

"Jareth? Jareth, please, it's alright, I'm here." She sobbed, trying desperately to summon magic to her hands to heal him. It had worked before, it had to work now. She watched as her hands glowed gold, but nothing happened. She willed it to work, sobbing with angry frustration as her husband remained lifeless and grey. "No!"

She resisted Arethusa's attempts to move her away, but didn't protest when her mother in law gently removed the baby from her front. Sarah fell over Jareth's body, weeping bitterly.

"Sweetheart." Arethusa said, her voice barely audible. She was weeping too, feeling as though part of her soul had been torn from her. "Sweetheart, he's gone."

"No! No, Jareth. You can't leave me. You can't make me live without you." Sarah begged the body beneath her. "Please, there must be something we can do? We're magic for God's sake, can't we bring him back?"

"Death does not answer to our powers." The High King said solemnly, baby Tomas in his arms. Both babes were silent now. "We have ways of bringing people back from the brink, but he has fallen already."

Sarah said nothing for several minutes. She wept over her husband, resting her hands on his bare skin. This was the last time she would hold him, the last time she would touch him. She rested her head on his chest, and realized that there was something missing.

"Where is his amulet?!" She demanded through her tears. "He needs his amulet, he never takes it off."

"It is on the child." Hefeyd said, staring down at Tomas. The babe had the pendant gripped tightly in his fist, and Hefeyd tried to pry it from him. "He must have placed it on him for protection. Do you want him to have it back?"

"Yes, please. Tomas can have his own amulet made, Jareth's is far too big for him anyway." Sarah said weakly, not sure she could bare to see her son wear her husband's amulet for the rest of her life. "I want Jareth to have it."

Hefeyd removed it from the baby and handed it to Sarah. She lifted Jareth awkwardly, hating how heavy and stiff he had already become. She placed the chain over his neck, dropping him back to the ground gently. She arranged the amulet so it sat flat against his chest. She traced the crest gently.

"I love you." She sobbed, her voice a coarse whisper. The words felt like sandpaper in her throat, knowing that he would never say them back to her. She could hardly see through her tears, her head spinning. "I will always love you. I wish you could hear me. I wish you were still alive. This isn't fair."

The pain of losing the only man she had ever loved ripped through her - the thought of all those moments that had been torn away from them. The days they would never spend together, the other children that they would never have, the old age that would never come. It pained her as though someone was tearing her apart with their hands.

As her fingers brushed the pendant, it began to glow. She flinched as a sharp shock went through her body, sending her flying backwards. She watched in wonder as Jareth's amulet shone, golden webs shooting along his chest, up his neck and along his face. It was as if every vein was on fire.

Arethusa and Hefeyd stood back, watching in amazement as their son radiated light. The rays of light made the room blindingly bright, his whole body ablaze. Sarah couldn't watch anymore; she had no idea about how the Fae died, but if she had to watch her husband burn, that was something she couldn't do.

Sarah ran to her babies and took them both in her arms. She stared down at them and realised that their markings were now exactly the same as hers. The new skin shone as though covered in dew, the colours bright and vibrant. They looked up at their mother silently, and Tomas broke out into a wide, gummy smile.

"I don't understand." She said to the High King and Queen, staring down at the babes in amazement. She sank to the floor, resting them on her knees. They felt different; she could feel their energies and it was just as Arethusa had said - they were attached to one another.

"I'm not sure I do either." A familiar voice said, and Sarah didn't dare to look up. She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart hammering in her chest. It was her mind playing cruel tricks on her. Jareth was dead, she had felt his cold skin and seen his lifeless face. Anything else was just her head trying to create a less devastating scenario.

She felt a curled hand on her cheek, long fingers stroking down her face. His skin was still cold, and she could feel the rounded metal of his wedding ring. It felt real. It couldn't be real.

"Sarah. Open your eyes, please darling." He asked her gently, his voice soft and pleading. She shook her head, and he moved his hand away from her face. He caught her hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers and holding her hand tightly.

"No. This isn't real." She said tightly, wondering how her own mind could possibly be so cruel.

"It's real, darling. It's very real. Open your eyes." He urged her softly, kneeling down in front of her. She took a deep, shaking breath as she prepared to open her eyes.

She tentatively cracked one eye open, and sobbed with relief when she saw Jareth standing there. She opened her other eye, shaking her head.

"How? You died. You're dead." She stammered, drinking in the sight of him. His skin was plump and healthy looking again, all greyness gone. His eyes sparkled, those familiar uneven pupils the same size they had always been. He was the same, yet somehow changed.

"I was dead. I'm alive now." He said as though it was the simplest thing in the world. He took Tomas from her, looking at him closely. He pressed a kiss to his son's forehead, looking down at his markings. " _This_ is truly a miracle."

"But how?" Sarah asked, reaching to touch his face. He closed his eyes, savoring the warmth of her fingers on his skin. He moved his head slightly and kissed her fingertips gently. She smiled uncertainly; this was surely a wonderful dream. Maybe she was dead too.

"Juturna." Jareth answered, and Arethusa stepped forward to look at him. Sarah shrank back, feeling guilty that she had denied his mother a chance to see him. She must have been going out of her mind with grief, but she had kept it inside. She truly was a remarkable woman, Sarah thought.

"Juturna?" His mother asked softly. "What did Juturna have to do with it?"

"When she died, all of her power went into my amulet. She knew what the Elves had planned, in that last moment she found a way to protect me, even if it was unintentional. Then, I suppose, the magic found it's way back to it's rightful owners once it had been freed. I don't understand how it brought me back to life, but perhaps I'm not meant to."

"Why would she do that?" Sarah asked, handing Hermione to Jareth and taking Tomas from him. She cradled her son gratefully, unable to believe that both of her boys were safe.

"She felt guilty, in those last moments. She told me." Jareth said softly, looking at his baby girl. He would spend his life making sure she never felt as weak as Juturna had. Juturna had been driven to madness by jealously; once upon a time, she was just as small and helpless as Hermione was now.

"She told you?" Sarah asked, not understanding. "She didn't tell you anything before she died, I was there."

"I saw her." Jareth said simply. "I saw her on the other side."

"You did?" Arethusa asked in wonder. "How was she?"

"Slightly less irritating than she was in life." Jareth said wryly. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. Sarah looked at him in concern, and he waved a hand to dismiss her worries. "I'm sorry Sarah, do you mind terribly if we go home? Dying has rather taken it out of me."

Sarah threw her head back and laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: I've had a few messages telling me it was the wrong thing to do, killing Jareth - I've had it planned from the very first chapter. I always knew that it was what would happen, so sorry if you didn't like it, but that was always planned. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it made up for things a little.  
**

 **The epilogue is up next! I just want to say a big thank you to every reviewer, every person that sent me a kind message. In particular I want to say a HUGE thanks to LovelyAmberLight who sent me several wonderful messages with ideas and things that I hadn't even thought of, and also gave me great help with reading through unfinished chapters.**

 **I can't believe this has stretched out over 40 chapters..thank you so much for sticking with me!**


	41. Epilogue

"I love you." Jareth told her for the fifieth time that night. She stroked his hair gently, taking in every detail of his face. He was a normal colour again, his cheeks pink. She couldn't stop touching him, needing to know he was alive. She waved her hands and the lights were extinguished, and they were in darkness.

"I love you too. You need to rest baby, you've been through a lot." She said soothingly. Jareth had been lying in their bed for hours, but he hadn't slept at all. He seemed a little woozy, as though he couldn't focus on anything. She had just spent the whole time staring at him, amazed that he was even there.

"I don't want to sleep." He said quietly, pulling her down to his level and making her cuddle against him. He was lying on his front, face pressed against the pillow. He was shirtless, but she couldn't even look at his back; the wound was clear to see, a nasty reminder that she had almost lost him. "I never want to close my eyes again."

"You're going to have to sleep sometime, Jareth." She told him firmly. She looked up at him, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. His hands were trembling against her, and she picked his left one up and kissed it gently. "Are you afraid?" She asked against his knuckles, and he nodded hesitantly.

"A little." He relented, and she stroked his chest, savoring the sensation of his heart beating underneath her palm. He rarely admitted to feeling any kind of fear, and he was still underplaying it, she knew. "I was _dead_ , Sarah. I think I might still be dead, this could all be some wonderful dream. I don't want to wake up."

She pinched the skin on his hand hard, and he glared at her through tired eyes. He rubbed at where she had pinched, grumbling. She laughed softly, kissing the patch she had hurt.

"Not a dream. Surely your back hurts?" She asked, unable to imagine how getting stabbed straight through the heart didn't hurt like hell.

"It stings a little." He shrugged. "It should be better by tomorrow."

The speed at which he was healing was remarkable; Sarah didn't want to look, but she knew that the wound had been shrinking hour by hour, as though time was on fast forward.

"I still don't understand." He spoke again, and she looked at him questioningly. In the darkness, she could only see the outline of his face, and she waved a hand to light a single candle. "I don't understand how she did it. My magic shouldn't have the power to resurrect me from the dead, and neither should the twins. It's some kind of magic I don't understand."

"Don't try to understand it." Sarah said firmly, kissing him delicately. "Just be thankful for it. Everything's going to be alright now, love. You fixed everything. It's safe for you to rest now, you've deserved it." She told him with a smile. The babies were in the corner - Sarah had moved their cribs into their bedroom, wanting to keep them close. They were Underground for the first time all together, and Sarah could hardly believe how much had happened in just a few hours.

The babies slept peacefully - no more crying. They must have been in agony, Sarah thought. Their markings had been under their skin the whole time, their capabilities for magic there but unfulfilled, like being starving hungry. They were content now - like completely different babies.

"I have too much to do. I need to draw up peace treaties to stop the Elves, help Father with the decision regarding the Elf Kings' punishments, then we need to organize their naming ceremony as soon as possible.." He babbled, his words sounding loose and slurred. He tried to get up, and Sarah forced him back down gently. "I can't just lie around."

"Rest." She commanded firmly, and she summoned some magic to her fingertips and brought them to his temples. He closed his eyes, and after a moment he was asleep. Sarah closed her eyes beside him, following him into a deep and much needed sleep.

* * *

A month later, Jareth returned to the Goblin City looking stressed. Sarah was sitting in the garden, Tomas on her lap nursing and Hermione asleep beside her. The weather had been stormy all day, but the sun had started to shine around an hour before.

"Hello love." Jareth said wearily, sitting down beside her. "I'm glad to see you."

"Me too." She smiled, leaning over to kiss him. "How did it go?"

"Father has decided his verdict." Jareth said, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth on his face. He had been anxious about the trial, knowing how much depended on it. His father was honour bound to have a jury made up of the King's peers - and that meant a room full of Kings. Jareth had sat on the jury, despite being the injured party, as well as several other Kings. Their verdicts could be overruled if needs be, but it would reflect badly on the situation if a unanimous decision was not reached.

"And?"

"Guilty." Jareth said simply, reaching out to rub one of Sarah's shoulders lazily.

"Obviously. I don't understand what took him so long." She complained; Jareth had hardly been around for weeks, and she had missed him terribly. "So what happens now?"

"They die tomorrow." Jareth shrugged. "Father will execute them himself as a symbol of their true betrayal of the High Crown. It is an incredibly powerful gesture."

"You're executing _all_ of them?" Sarah asked with a frown. "Who will rule the Elf Kingdoms? None of them have any children."

"Alaric." He said, as though it was obvious. He walked over to Hermione's crib and stroked her sleeping face gently. "Of course."

"Alaric? He's just a baby." Sarah said softly, imagining the little baby she saw most days bearing the weight of an enormous kingdom on his tiny shoulders. It was clear that he would inherit them, of course, but she was still getting used to how royalty worked. In her mind, no baby should be saddled with such a huge responsibility before they could even speak.

"I have appointed a great Uncle of Alaric's to rule as his protector until he comes of age. He is trustworthy, and I believe he will do as I say." Jareth said firmly. "I will have no more rebellion. If we didn't execute all of them, I would look weak; Father would look weak. We cannot be brought into question."

"So all the Elf Kingdoms will be put together? Won't they have a problem with that?"

"If they have an issue, they can take it up with someone who cares." Jareth said bitterly, sitting down next to Sarah. "I don't wish to talk about it anymore. I am tired of thinking of them."

"How was the trial?" Sarah asked as Tomas finished, and she covered herself and handed the baby to Jareth, who bounced him on his knee. Sarah rolled her eyes and took the baby back, burping him properly. "I can't believe the other Kings all agreed, just like that. They can't be happy about the High King sentencing so many lower Kings to death at once."

"The High King has the authority to do as he wishes. If I wasn't the heir to the High Throne, they would have gotten away with it. They knew their duty to keep the peace - and the Elves were guilty as sin, there was no denying that." Jareth told her firmly, and she nodded.

"So, it's over?" Sarah asked, sighing. "It feels like the Elves have been causing us nothing but trouble for a year."

"They _have_ , darling. It's been a hell of a year. But yes, it is over. I wish for Alaric to remain under my mother's care, she will teach him the ways of the world. He will be our ally, uniting the Kingdoms. Tomas will be Goblin King, and it is important that the cousins get on well."

"Why, where are you going?" Sarah asked in alarm. "Tomas won't be Goblin King for thousands of years yet."

"Father has asked me a question." Jareth sighed, looking at Sarah warily. She looked up from Tomas, imagining this tiny baby as Goblin King, and raised an eyebrow.

"What question?" She asked him, confused.

"He wishes me to take over as High King. He is tired." Jareth said - he seemed to always be called upon when his father had grown weary of ruling. That was how he had become Goblin King, and now he was merely being handed the most powerful position possible.

"Oh." Sarah said, looking away from him. She felt her stomach drop, a sense of impending doom washing over her. Goblin Queen was intimidating enough, but the prospect of ruling an entire world seemed too much for her to handle.

"He would stay in the position for a year or two to finish his affairs properly, but then he wishes to retire with my mother." Jareth went on, oblivious to the fact Sarah was no longer looking at him. "I think he feels doubtful of his ability to rule now. It is better to admit weakness and retreat than to stay and have others exploit it. The High Throne must never come into question."

"What did you tell him?" Sarah asked hesitantly, twisting her hands together anxiously. He caught sight of her, and frowned. He took her hands in his, smiling fondly at her and stroking the side of her face tenderly.

"I said I would discuss it with my Queen first. What do you think?" He asked nervously, and Sarah examined his face. He would make an excellent High King, but she was unsure of her abilities to rule by his side. She was confident in her place now, but she was not as kind or as authoritative as Arethusa, and she worried that as soon as her status was elevated, the vultures would begin circling again - just as they had done before she and Jareth were married.

"You can't really say no, can you?" She said, turning away from him. He grabbed her free hand and gripped it tightly, and she turned back. He was looking at her intently, his face serious.

"I could." Jareth said softly. "If you wanted me to. Things would change for us if I were to accept, darling. It would be a huge adjustment. I would never accept if you were not happy. I mean, I will inherit the throne eventually, but if you wish to have more time darling, then he would understand."

"I just need to think for a minute. It's all a bit sudden." She sat in silence for a minute, trying to make sense of all the questions in her mind. "Could we still go Above?"

"Of course." Jareth said. "I would miss young Toby, and it's nice to get away from all the politics. I shall miss my goblins, they're positively pleasant compared to the Fae court."

Sarah laughed, thinking off the constant noise and chaos of the Goblin court compared to the serenity of the High Palace. There was bitchiness and politics of course, but Sarah had grown in confidence since the incident at the banquet.

"And I'll still be allowed to raise the children myself? No nannies, no wet nurses." Sarah said firmly, unable to imagine handing over her children to a stranger.

"You think I would deprive you of our children?" Jareth asked, feeling a little hurt. "I haven't made you have any help so far, why on Earth would that change?"

"No reason." Sarah said lightly. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Well, no, there would be no nannies. Are there any other questions?"

"Will you still love me?" Sarah asked, half joking.

"Of course. I will never be rude to you in public. You were right, you know. We really are much stronger showing that we truly care for each other. I thought all of those old codgers were going to explode when I kissed you at the presentation of the twins."

The twins had yet to be formally named, but they had been presented at the High Palace as soon as Jareth had recovered enough. Sarah had overheard women gossiping yet again - but merely to say how jealous they were that Sarah had managed to find a husband who didn't seem disgusted to be seen showing affection in public. Perhaps the Fae were capable of love - they just needed to find it for themselves.

* * *

"Sarah, I really don't think this blindfold is necessary." Jareth said, as Sarah lead him by the hand. He hated surprises. Sarah had ambushed him on his way from his office to the Throne Room, jumping on his back and tying the offending piece of cloth over his eyes.

"Well I think it is. Shut up for once." Sarah told him firmly.

"It's my birthday, you're supposed to be nice to me." He grumbled, as he tripped over something on the floor. "Sarah, could you please watch where we're going? I've already died once this year, I'd rather not break my neck."

"You're supposed to go along with the surprise and not moan every five seconds. You're sixteen hundred years old, can't you just take it all in your stride?" Sarah said irritably. "You're not going to die. Stop making jokes about it, it's not funny."

"Fine, fine. Can I take this thing off now? It's really not fun unless we're in the bedroom, precious. Save it though, we can use it when you give me my present later." He said suggestively, the visible part of his face grinning wolfishly.

"Shh, your mother's here!" Sarah hissed into his ear, turning bright red and glancing at Arethusa in embarrassment.

"Sorry Mum!" He called out, trying not to laugh.

"I've heard worse from you, Jareth." Arethusa replied wearily. "You may as well let him see, Sarah."

Sarah untied the scrap of material and removed it, stuffing it in her pocket. They were outside in the castle gardens, and Sarah had made a picnic for them. There were balloons, brought down from Above, and even a banner. Arethusa had looked utterly bemused when she had helped Sarah decorate, but Sarah wanted to give Jareth a taste of a human birthday - even if she was wearing Fae clothing and they were in a magical Kingdom.

Jareth started laughing.

"Oh, how adorable." He said, taking in the sight of Hermione and Tomas wearing party hats. They were nine months old now, and growing like human babies. Tomas was still big, his cheeks round and thoroughly pinchable, with wispy blonde hair just like his father's. Hermione was the spitting image of her mother, all big eyes and brown hair. They sat up unaided, holding smushed up bits of cake in their chubby little fists.

"They weren't supposed to have the cake." Sarah said apologetically. "It appeared in their hands when I wasn't looking."

"At least they're here, and not upside down on the ceiling like last week darling." Jareth said reassuringly, remembering when he had been entrusted with their care whilst Sarah had gone to visit her mother. He'd had to use a broom to get them down.

Sarah laughed; the twins' magic was powerful and raw, but their lack of control meant they kept doing ridiculous things. There was the time they accidentally turned Toby's hair blue, and when they vanished in the middle of their naming ceremony. They had searched for several minutes, and found them both asleep in a tree outside.

"I know we have your official celebration tonight, but I thought this would be nice. My family always used to do birthday picnics." Sarah told him, and he kissed her gently.

"I love it. Especially the hats. Do I get one?" Jareth asked, twanging the elastic under Sarah's chin. She shoved him playfully, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She laughed, wriggling out his grasp. She waved her hand and another hat appeared in her hand.

"Of course. Arethusa, Hefeyd, do you want one?" Sarah asked brightly, placing a hat on Jareth's enormous hair.

"Perhaps not, dear." Arethusa said, eyeing the brightly colored conical hats with suspicion. She held baby Alaric on her lap, who was wearing a hat of his own and merrily hitting his grandmother with a green balloon. "It would ruin my hair."

"I too will decline, if you don't mind Sarah." Hefeyd told her, sitting on the floor awkwardly.

Despite the difficult start to their relationship, Hefeyd had become quite fond of Sarah. Shortly after the incident with the Elves, he had taken her aside and apologized to her. She was a strong woman, he could see, and her love was good for Jareth. When Sarah and the babies had moved Underground full time, he came to visit his grandchildren every day, as well as to check on his son's health. Although he had been awkward with the children at first, he had grown to love them. He had been a good father to Jareth and Juturna, and Sarah was thrilled to see the High King take to grand-fatherhood like a natural.

He had been overcome with regret, Jareth had told her in private. Family had always been so important to him, and he had watched his daughter almost tear everything apart. That was the reason he was abdicating; he didn't trust himself anymore.

It was to be announced next week that Jareth was becoming the High King, and Sarah was anxious but excited at the same time. It was a new challenge, a new life for them - one that she was confident Jareth would excel at. He was a great leader, and she couldn't wait to see how he grew.

Tomas would be Goblin King when he was old enough - Jareth thought in maybe four hundred years. That much time passing had filled Sarah with fear; Toby would be long dead, the world Above completely changed. Jareth had given her a gift. She smiled as she remembered the dark night he had surprised her.

"I know it pains you to see the ones you love grow old, dearest. I have done something rather special, just for you."

"What?" She had asked, frowning.

"I've reordered time."

"This sounds awfully familiar."

"Hundreds of years may pass down here, but I have changed the time difference. Don't ask me how I did it, it was quite a headache. But a hundred of our years should now equate to roughly a year Above. Any discrepancies will all work themselves out."

"Seriously?" Sarah blinked back tears, overjoyed at the thought that her parents would get the chance to see Tomas and Hermione grow up.

"Seriously."

She shook her head, bringing herself back to this moment. Jareth was now lying on the floor with both babies climbing on top of him, getting bits of cake in his long hair. He laughed joyfully, lifting Hermione above him and listening to her gleeful giggles.

* * *

Later that night, after she had given him his "gift" as promise (the blindfold lay discarded on the floor), he held her close to him.

"I've worked it out." He said quietly, running his fingers up and down her arm. It made her shudder a little, and she brushed his fingers away

"Worked what out?" She asked, frowning.

"How I came back to life." Jareth told her, the very words sending a chill up her spine.

"Have you been thinking about it for all these months?" She asked, not wanting to think about that terrible night. "What was it?"

"Love." Jareth said simply, caressing her face and pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth. "It was love."

"Love?" Sarah asked, her voice skeptical. "How?"

"The Fae don't feel love, we don't usually know it at all. So, wouldn't it make sense that love has a power greater than any we could understand? You touched my amulet in a moment of true sorrow, pure heartbreak. I can't quite work it out, but I'm sure that's what it was."

"Maybe." Sarah said, feeling a tear drip down her face. She took a deep breath, and looked up at him nervously. "I have one last present for you."

"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Haven't you given me enough, precious?"

She took his hands and placed them on her bare stomach. He looked at her strangely for a moment, and she watched with joy as a grin slowly spread over his face.

"No." He breathed, his hands tight over her belly. She could feel the warm glow of his magic connecting with the new energy that was living inside her. "No, this can't be."

"It's true." She said, trying not to laugh at the dopey expression on his face. He was blinking in shock, his fingers lightly caressing the almost indistinguishably curve of her stomach.

"Already?" He asked in wonder.

"Is it too soon?" She asked him anxiously, and he shook his head.

"No, precious. Not too soon. I just can't believe it. Another baby already. I'm the luckiest man in the world." He kissed her forehead, and then peppered every inch of her face with gentle kisses. She smiled happily, overjoyed that the prospect of three young children so close in age wasn't terrifying him.

"I think I'm the lucky one." She smiled, stroking his hair.

"We're both lucky, let's just leave it at that. I love you, precious."

"And I love you, Goblin King." She told him teasingly, and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't call me that." He groaned, rolling onto his back. He pulled her on top of him playfully, and she shrieked as he tickled her mercilessly. "Your Highness will suffice."

"You wish." She said, trying to escape. "I wish the Goblin King would stop tickling me right now!"

"Not going to work, love." He let her go anyway, and she rolled off him. She sat up beside him, and he joined her. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Isn't it weird, if someone had told me when I was fifteen that I'd be here butt naked with you, our kids asleep in their nursery and another one on the way, I'd have said they were straight up crazy."

"Butt naked? Very poetic darling. It's not crazy. I knew we were destined to be together forever."

"Forever?" Sarah smiled, leaning against his shoulder and shutting her eyes. "That sounds like a long time."

"Nonsense, sweet thing. It's not long at all."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **We're done! I just want to say, as it's the last time I'll speak to you here, a huge, huge thank you for the wonderful support you've all given me. So many reviews have said this is up there with the best fanfiction they've read and I honestly can't believe it. I started out thinking nobody would read it, and so many people have that it makes my head hurt a little bit.**

 **I've always wanted to write a long fanfiction but I've never managed to do it, always giving up after a few chapters. I don't know what it is about this fandom, but it's just clicked in a way no other one ever has with me.**

 **Thanks for the constructive criticism, the tears, the suggestions, the mild hate mail when something went wrong, just everything!**

 **If you have any suggestions for one shots or anything (probably separate to this storyline) feel free to leave them for me or send me a message.**

 **Well, this is me signing off! Bye everyone!**

 **Started on 14/02/2016 and finished on 31/03/2016.**


End file.
